January 1st is a traditional open house at the Indian
Cultural Center and Temple (Hindu Temple), Eads, about a
half-hour drive from midtown. Refreshments for a small
charge, morning t0 8 PM. Interesting religious ceremonies
(dress conservatively, long pants or skirts, long sleeves,
no jeans.) A wonderful chance to see this interesting
and ever-expanding temple complex, and meet and talk with
our Hindu neighbors.

I can't avoid some comment on the removal of the statues of
Jefferson Davis and Confederate General Forrest. Being
overseas and seeing this first through the international
press before I read the Commercial Appeal and Mayor
Strickland's statements was an unusual experience. I
heartily approve of moving the statues from where they
were, but am gravely puzzled at the legal techniques
involved (the most charitable word I can find for the
procedures.) At least one right-wing German politician
has already demanded that a similar system be used to remove
and destroy the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin; another
person here has asked whether, if the residents of the towns
or counties containing Dachau and Auschwitz would prefer not
to be reminded of that part of their local history, would
they be justified in taking whatever legal steps were
necessary to plow them up one night. These
questions bother me. I do wonder when and where the
statues will again be on display, and what sort of
historical material will be provided as educational material
in those contexts. (I'll be back in Memphis by January
7, weather permitting, and speaking at Shady Grove
Presbyterian Church on January 10 and at Masjid As-Salaam
January 20.)

Rev Benjamin Badgett of Holy Communion Episcopal, who
has been very active in MLK50 and other city-wide
activities, is leaving to become rector of St John's
Episcopal, Waynesboro, Virginia. Blessings, Benjamin!

Looking to plan group programs after recovering from all the
Christmas season concerts? Recall that
interesting speakers are available from groups like
Common Table Health Alliance (http://www.commontablehealth.org/),
MIFA https://www.mifa.org/.
Bridges http://bridgesusa.org/,
and quite a few other local organizations.
Who else ould like toi be mentioned here?
(And I'm happy to say I already have a couple of
invitations!)

The Midsouth Peace and Justice Center prives a link to a
20-minute film on the problems of Puerto Rice: http://pronthemap.com/

I can't resist writing
a bit on the fact that there are more than two outlooks on
life, and that positions can be more nuanced.
The Washington Post has an article on the issue of what the
word "evangelical" has come to often mean (i.e., fanatic
right-wing), at http://wapo.st/2j4PqHR?tid=ss_mail&utm_term=.56b1bdfb1c2c
I've never been offended by
the term "evangelical", I can understand people wanting to
bring the message of Jesus; it's a good message for the
world. There is no reason one cannot be a left-leaning
evangelical, a social gospel evangelical, or the like. It
would be a shame to let this wonderful word be taken over
entirely by an unfortunate group of right-wing politicians,
and I hope other evangelicals will continue to use the word
and make clear that it is a religious term, not a political
one.
Of course, as a
Jew, I have a very similar problem. I consider myself a
Zionist - I want a safe and peaceful and prosperous place
for Jews at the east end of the Mediterranean. But I think
that is impossible unless there is also a safe and peaceful
and prosperous place there for the Palestinians, something
which present Israeli and US policies seem designed to
prevent. So "Zionist", for me, does not include support for
the present Israeli administration or many present Israeli
government policies, and many who consider themselves (and
who I concede are) Zionists do not consider me a "real"
Zionist.
We need to
recognize that there are shades of political belief and
shades of meaning, that one need not "choose a side"
and then agree in all details with public figures who claim
that label. I've sometimes wondered if this may be a
bit easier for Jews and Muslims than for Christians - simply
because we don't have enough people to build as many
different buildings as the Christians do, we are forced to
get along with a lot more varieties of belief and practice
in the same building.

December 6

I've been out of circuit for several weeks. What first
seemed a routine infection got out of hand when each
antibiotic seemed to cause another previously present but
inactive bacteria to bloom. The fourth antibiotic seems to be
doing the trick, apparently against a bacteria Eunice and I
picked up in a Cambodian village about 2004; the doctor says
so far as he knows, this bacteria hadn't turned up in Germany
in 30 years. So I'm afraid I missed notice of many events. I'm
trying to fill in the gaps, at least as to upcoming events.

I want to call attention to the list of events with Roman
Catholic sponsorship at
http://cdom.org/CatholicDiocese.php?op=Events_Community
I'll probably mention occasional events from that list here,
but many of you may want to scan it. I've often found
attending retreats or conferences from a religion other than
my own helpful to my thinking or spiritual life.

Porter-Leath is trying to collect toys for 5,900 local
low-income children under 5. Toy Truck presented by Yuletide
Office Solutions rolls through December 6 - 8 from 8:00 a.m.
to 6:00 p.m. at Bud Davis Cadillac, 5433 Poplar Avenue, and at
WMC Action News 5 on Saturday, December 9 from 8:00 a.m. until
4:00 p.m. (unwrapped toys, please; cash donations will
be matched.)

It's time to plan for the spring semester!
Spring courses and other events are available at the Memphis
School for Servant Leadership.
http://www.servantleadership-memphis.org/
Tennessee Seniors may audit courses free at U of M, contact
Kismet Winkelmann, kwnklmnn (at) memphis.edu
Seniors and alumni may audit Memphis Theological Seminary
courses at a reduced price. 901.458.8232

November 16.

This past weekend the conference titled, "Perspectives for a
World Free from Nuclear Weapons and for Integral Disarmament,"
was held at the Vatican. This is the largest international
conference on nuclear disarmament since the Nuclear Ban Treaty
was adopted this summer.Out of this conference came Pope
Francis's condemnation of nuclear weapons. He said, "Weapons
of mass destruction, particularly nuclear weapons, create
nothing but a false sense of security. They cannot constitute
the basis for peaceful coexistence between members of the
human family."
Link to news article:
https://www.ncronline.org/news/vatican/pope-condemns-possession-nuclear-weapons-shift-churchs-acceptance-deterrence

With cokl weather arriving, I want people to be aware of Romm
in the Inn
https://www.roomintheinn-memphis.org/
Churches provide nightime housing for the homeless and may
need volunteer help.

November 10.

The death of the mother of a member at Pema Karpo meditation
center led them to point out that information about Buddhist
death and memorial practices and prayers may be found on the
"teaching" page at http://www.pemakarpo.org/
That page leads to a lot of other interesting information.

November 8.

In an unusual interfaith cooperation, Rev. Steve Cook of
Second Baptist and Rabbi Micah Greenstein ofTemple Israel
wrote an op-ed opposing the proposal to cut taxes for the very
rich and reduce help for those in need.
http://www.commercialappeal.com/story/opinion/contributors/2017/10/31/republican-trump-tax-cuts-plan-morally-unacceptable/815585001/

Don't Miss storyteller Donald Davis at Balmoral Presbyterian
Nov10-12

The annual InterfaithThanksgiving Service will be Nov21, 7PM,
First Baptist Church (East Parkway at Poplar). Not to be
missed,

The Civil Rights Museum is geting up to full speed with the
MLK50 celebration. I've put in quiet a few new events of
theirs in the next two weeks. But I urge you to get on their
mailing list, at
http://mlk50.civilrightsmuseum.org/list-signup

I'm excited that Memphis will have a
showing of the important interfaith movie "The Sultan and the
Saint" on Nov 12.
(Saint Francis of Assisi visiting the Muslim ruler of
Egypt) (Sunday 3-5 PM)
Trailer https://www.sultanandthesaintfilm.com/
Ticket info
http://www.memphisinterfaith.org/event/memphis-premiere-of-the-sultan-and-the-saint/
Free but please reserve seats promptly.

November 2.

Abject apologies for poor formatting at the moment - I'm
away from my usual computer and have been having trouble
with sizes and fonts.

The Civil Rights Museum is geting up to full
speed with the MLK50 celebration. I've put in quiet a few
new events of theirs in the next two weeks. But I urge you
to get on their mailing list, at http://mlk50.civilrightsmuseum.org/list-signup
October 28.

A rare and memorable day - I had
breakfast at Temple Israel, lunch at St. Louis Catholic
Church, dinner at Masjid As-Salaam.
Temple Israel has a regular bible study
class ("Torah Study") every Saturday, 8:45-9:45 AM. All
welcome, free, no preparation needed, a nice breakfast
(bagel and lox, among other things.) If you've ever
wondered what a Jewish "Sunday School" class looks like,
drop by. I recommend arriving by 8:30 AM to stock your
breakfast plate and socialize.
The class at St. Louis (special event,
not a continuing thing) was a discussion of Roman Catholic
"Just War" theory. I did not know that Bishop Dozier, during
the Vietnam War, and written that in his view modern
armaments and fighting techniques made "just war"
essentially impossible, and that he encouraged conscientious
objection.
Masjid As-Salaam has Saturday
evening dinners typically once a month, often asking
immigrants to Memphis from some country to do a presentation
about that country. The country this evening was
Bangla Desh, and had a great deal of information I had not
known, and then a discussion of the problems of the Rohingya
minority in Myanmar, a Muslim group that is under severe
attack and many of them have fled to Bangla
Desh. Interestingly, the Christian Science
Monitor had an editorial a few days ago praising the four
countries that, it said, do not restrict the number of
incoming refugees - Turkey and Jordan receiving refugees
mainly from Syria (and some from Iraq), Uganda receiving
refugees from South Sudan, and Bangla Desh receiving
refugees from Myanmar. I had not seen that list
before!

October 27

I've been under the weather a
bit, medical troubles and preparing for a long trip.
I'm considering trying to update the list here somewhat more
sparsely, and fewer or shorter e-mails. Do check the site
her for updates.

The Music teaching group PRIZM will have a winter program at
Mount Moriah East Baptist Church, between Christmas and New
Years, thanks to a grant from the Assisi Foundation.
If you know young musicians or have a youth group with any
musicians in it, tell them to watch https://www.facebook.com/prizmensemble
or to leave a message there to ask for further
information when available.

October 19.

Memphis mosques are preparing for
the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. One group tour being
organized has Dec 23 to 30 in Arabia - 3 nights in Medina, 4
nights in Mecca, at fancy hotels.

I thought it of
possible interest to look up some prayer schedules. In a few
cases they were hard to read, as the worshipers usually have
understandings that don't have to be explained on the web
sites. So I may have misread some.
So far as I know. most or all
of the Memphis mosques are open for the prescribed five
Muslim daily prayers. (Muslims are expected to pray 5
times every day.) All are quite brief services. As of Oct
20, the schedules for Masjid Ar_Rahman and Masjid Al-Noor
are as follows (others are very similar):
Fajr 4:30 AM, Dhuhr 1:30 PM, Asr 4:15 PM, Maghrib 10 minutes
after sunset, Isha 8:30 PM. The big service with the
sermon is Friday at 1:15 PM (typically 30 minutes of sermon,
then 15 minutes of prayer.)
Traditional Jews are supposed
to pray three times a day. The services are typically
longer than thye Muslim ones. An orthodox Jewish
synagogue usually nominally has three services a day; Baron
Hirsch, for example, presently gets a "minyan" (10 men)
together at 7 and 8 am Sunday, 6:25 and 6:45 am Mon &
Thurs, 6:30 an 7 am Tues-Weds, 6:20 and 6:45 am Friday; the
afternoon and evening services are done at one session
starting 6:05 pm Sunday through Friday. The largest
(Sabbath) services are Friday evening and Saturday morning,
with another slightly different service for the close of
Sabbath on Saturday afternoon. Generally, the synagogues are
less consistent one-to-another than mosques.
Catholic churches
usually offer daily masses, e.g. at the Cathedral of the
Immaculate Conception they are at present Mon to Friday 6:30
am, Mon to Weds 8 am, Thursday and Friday 9 am, Saturday 8
am and 5 PM. Sundays they are 8 am, 10 am, noon, 2 pm
(Spanish).
Protestant churches
have their big service Sunday morning; some have services
e.g. both at 8 am and 10:30 or 11 am. Quite a few also
have a Sunday evening service and Wednesday morning,
Wednesday evening, or both. If there rtae POrotestant
churches in Memphis with daily services, I haven't noticed
them.
I don't know how consistent
the Orthodox Christian Churches are - St. George';s for
example, has services Wednesday 6 PM, Saturday 5:30 PM,
Sunday 10 AM.
The Hindu Temple (Indian
Cultural Center and Temple) has a large variety of different
ceremonies and services. On a typical weekday there are
prayers offered ever half hour 8:30 to 10 am, Saturday and
Sunday also 11 am some days, noon, 4:30 - 6:00 pm. Every day
5:30 pm, 6 pm, 7 pm, 8:15 PM.

October 3.

Last weekend was fascinating.
Saturday was the first time in about 30 years that the
principal Jewish fast day of Yom Kippur and the main Muslim
fast day of Day of Ashura coincided. (The nature of the
calendars is such that they will be one day apart next year,
then the Jewish calendar gets a leap year and Day of Ashura
will be one month before Yom Kippur. Muslims point out
that when Mohamed arrived in Medina he observed the Jews
there fasting on Yom Kippur and decided that this was a good
idea and the Muslims should observe it also. I was
able to attend some parts of both observances. It was
fascinating that the sermons by Imam Abdullah at Masjid
As-Salaam and by Rabbi Micah Greenstein at Temple Israel
were so similar that had they awapped pulpits, it would have
been hard to tell the difference except when Rabbi Micah
quoted Torah in Hebrew and Imam Abdullah quoted Qur'an in
Arabic. Both began their sermons with Moses leading the
Children of Israel to the shore of the Red Sea. With the sea
before them and the Egyptian Army behind them, not not even
Moses knowing what was coming next, there was nothing to do
but depend on God. Both SYnagogue and Mosque had other
similar stories- e.g. of Jonah (Arabic Yunis), of the
ongoing mercy of God, and of the need also for human beings
to take an active role, in accordance with God's
guidance.
I'm not sure it is
etiquette to note such details, but Temple Israel had mainly
pastries to break the fast Saturday evening, while Masjid
Ar-Rahman put on a full roast lamb dinner. I really do
encourage people to go to congregational dinners at other
places than their usual - I've found visitors are always
welcome (I try to let you know if reservations are in order)
and it is a great way to get to know people.

And then the depression of
Monday morning, with the news of the shootings in Las Vegas.
Ouch.

I'd love to see many of us
read an article in the Christian Science Monitor, athttps://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2017/0823/At-slavery-era-sites-in-Rio-app-unearths-an-uneasy-history
about a computer app about the history of Rio de Janiero
(which was by far the largest slave market in the Americas.)
It describes a way to bring out the history of Rio, in part
by giving information about the sites associated with the
history of slavery there. Is there any way we could
have such a thing for Memphis? It is directly in line
with the interest of groups like Facing History, the Memphis
Lynching Sites Project, the Civil Rights Museum, and a
number of other activist groups - as well as potentially
Museums, the Visitors Bureau, and others. Who could
take the lead in such a project? Ideas and thoughts
are welcome. If you have useful contacts, pass this
thought along to them. I can be reached at edward @
ordman.net

Starting October 13, Church Health Center will offer a
weekly Muslim prayter service ("Juma", the m,ajopr weekly
service for Muslims) at 1 PM
in the Church Health Meditation Chapel. All are
welcome. The Church Health Meditation Chapel is located on
the first floor of Crosstown Concourse, 1350 Concourse Ave.

Sept 28.

Fire at First Congregational
Church. (Added: Damage to Kitchen and offices.) First Congo
Church is a hub and pillar of social justice work in
Memphis. Last weekend, there was a fire in clothes closet
and there are concerns and early reports that this was due
to arson. We urge all of our friends to lend whatever
support you can to First Congo.
First Congo would and has been there for all of us, let's be
there for them. DONATE HERE: http://firstcongo.com/donate/

I don't often advertise Sunday
School courses or the equivalent, but this has sponsors and
speakers many of us know from interfaith work - and
isn't at the usual Sunday School hours. LIVING
PEACEFULLY IN A VIOLENT WORLD
4 Thursdays, Oct. 5 thru 26 (7 - 9
p.m.) OR 2 Saturdays, Oct. 14 and 28
(10 a.m. - 2 p.m.)
St. Louis Parish. 203 S. White Station Rd.
The course will cover Scripture, Tradition, and
Church documents including recent statements by
Pope Francis, but will
be centered on how we can practically live out the
Lord's command to be peacemakers.
Presenters: Msgr. Al Kirk, Judy and Jerry Bettice,
Paul Crum
Texts: Bible, (other handouts to be provided)
Cost: $20 suggested (fee waived or pay what you
can according to need.)
Registration is not mandatory, but very helpful so
we know the number of handouts to prepare.
Please register by calling Jerry or Judy Bettice
at 901.327.8068 or email
jbettice@earthlink.net.

The Mid-South Peace and
Justice Center has a program for training people
to silk-screen print T-shirts. Yes, it costs
money, but the money goes for a project to provide
jobs and income for the homeless. And of course if
your organization wants t-shirts, or if your youth
group or other group wants to make t-shirts as a
project... more information by calling
901-725-4990 or emailing
streetwise@midsouthpeace.org

(Episcopal church mailing: Special
Friends Fellowship Group is a diocesan-wide
formation ministry serving adults with special
needs over the age of 19. Upcoming gatherings are
Sept. 24; Oct. 1, 15, and 29; Nov. 12; and Dec. 3
at All Saints Episcopal Church, 1508 S. White
Station Rd. The events are held from 5:30 to 7:30
p.m. and include dinner, fun and games, and
worship. Guests must register in advance with
Janie Morris at 901-761-1020 or
morrishome1@bellsouth.net.

Sept 15.

I've been asked to
point out the "Memphis Activism Calendar" at http://memphisactivismcalendar.weebly.com/
I'm quite impressed by it. It has a different
focus from this page but certainly picks up events
of interest that I haven't noticed before.
I'd very muchappreciate it if a few friuends would
look at it closely and comment to me. Should I be
listing here some events I find there? Should I be
adding events there? Is that format enough
preferable to mine that I should try to learn how
to do it that way?

I missed the
program on breast cancer at Temple Israel on the
evening of September 5, but on that evening I
heard an excellent talk at the Cathedral of the
Immaculate Conception. Donna Blackard, an outreach
educator from LeBonheur, spoke about HIV/AIDS
prevention. Memphis is the sixth worst city in the
country for this, having thousands of new cases a
year - over a hundred times as many as San
Francisco, for example. In San Francisco the
schools teach about sex and the Health Department
provides preventative drugs; neither is true in
Memphis, where the schools do not even mention
condoms. Tennessee gives more support to anti-AIDS
groups in Nashville - where AIDS spreads among
white drug users - than in Memphis, where our
legislators apparently think of it as a Black and
Latino problem.
The good news,
which I had not known, is that there is now a drug
which can be taken that prevents getting HIV.
There is even something like a "morning-after"
pill, which can prevent AIDS if taken within 36
hours after exposure (exposure by e.g. a needle or
sex.) These are covered by many forms of
insurance and local charities will provide them at
no or minimal cost to those in need. LeBonheur
Children's Hospital will treat juveniles 13 to 18
(under thirteen requires parental consent) but
they also provide information and appointment
arrangements for those over 18. You can obtain
further information about these programs (the
prevention drug is called PrEP) from Ms. Blackard
at 901-289-6281,
donna.blackard@lebonheur.org.
Ms. Blackard is also
happy to speak to or meet with any interested
groups, with youth at risk, or parents of youth at
risk.
Please help spread the
word!

Eid El-Adha is upon us, with a
nice free open dinner at Masjid As-Salaam this evening
August 31), following the brief service at about 7:30 PM.
(Men and women eat in separate rooms, although they have
let couples arriving as first-time visitors stay together
if you ask politely.)

There are far too many
essays, programs, speeches about the events in
Charlottesville and the twit's reactions to it for me to
try to even give a sample here. I do note that St Mary's
Episcopal has a Sunday Adult Forum at 10 AM on Continuing
Conversations about Race, Statues and the Christian Life.I
don't know if there is a mosque in Charlottesville. There
were active threats against a synagogue there and you may
be interested in the comments of the congregation's
president at http://memphisirg.org/Virginia2017.pdf
Some of the
discussion about Memphis' statues is at http://tsdmemphis.com/news/2017/aug/24/city-council-mulls-ways-deal-confederate-statues/

The Benjamin L. Hooks
Institute for Social Change at the University of Memphis
has selected “We Are an African People: Independent
Education, Black Power, and the Radical Imagination” by
Russell Rickford as the winner of the 2016 Hooks National
Book Award.

I can't help note one
aspect of "Americanization". Jews of course have
their major weekly prayer services (the ones that get
sermons) on the Sabbath, Friday sunset to Saturday sunset,
since that was the day God rested after creation (often,
but not always, Reform temples have the biggest program
Friday evening and more traditional synagogues on Saturday
morning.) Muslims have the service with the sermon
and biggest attendance on Friday, the day God created
human beings - usually at 1 or 1:15 PM. Churches usually
have their biggest service sometime Sunday morning, the
day Christ arose after crucifixion. But as
Christians were the most numerous Sunday became the
standard "day off" in the US. It amuses me to note
that a great many of the Synagogues and Mosques in Memphis
(and elsewhere in the US) do run religious classes and
discussion groups on Sunday morning and often call them
"Sunday School". (Am I wrong, or were the first
Sunday School classes for adults historically run by the
Methodists in England? That being the "Method" to learn
about the Bible?)

To depart from those more
common religions, however, I note that Dr. Munoj Jain, a
leader of the local Jain community and a major peace and
interfaith activist (Jainism is a minority religion in
India) has posted a nice "evaluation tool" related to the
Jain way of life, that many will find interesting,http://www.jwol.org/test/my-mind-my-body/
I must admit I only now, exploring that
site, discovered Dr. Jain's essay from 2013 about
the Ramadan Iftar dinner that year, in the Huffington
Post.http://www.jwol.org/huffington-post/interfaith-and-jainism/

Balmoral Presbyterian Church is
seeking people interested in joining a Prison Visit
program, especially to provide visits to prisoners who
have no visitors from friends and family. Contact Balmoral
Presbyterian (ask for Scott Dawson or Donna Sparger.)

August 10.

A recent evaluation of the MIFA Meals on
Wheels program produced extremely favorable
results on how it affected nutrition of the
elderly - far better than national averages.
MIFA Meals on Wheels program, which serves 3,784
Shelby County seniors annually, reduces food
insecurity and loneliness for seniors age 60 and
older by providing meals and a visit at home or
at a congregate nutrition site. MIFA Meals on
Wheels has been awarded the highest possible
accreditation conferred by Meals on Wheels
America, the oldest and largest national
organization supporting 5,000 community-based
senior nutrition programs. Meals on Wheels
America, http://www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org/?bblinkid=56078183&bbemailid=4596280&bbejrid=346845776
MIFA,
https://www.mifa.org/

I assume most of us know to be very wary of
on-line and telephone fundraising
campaigns; it is almost always essential to
contact the organization yourself through a
known contact point. There has recently been a
scammer misusing information from a well-known
New York Muslim group; a typical warning being
circulated is BE WARNED: Do not
reply to any communication from the Twitter
handle@feisalabdulrauf. This is a
fraudulent account, which has copied the
profile information and posts of Imam Feisal's
real Twitter account, which is@ImamFeisal.Also, be
aware that the scammer is requesting to speak
on the telephone. Do not engage in
conversation with anyone from this source of
communication. (The actual organization,
Cordoba House, never solicits funds via twitter
or Facebook)

August 4.

Temple Israel has sent
out a request for interest in an Interfaith
Women's Club. If you are interested in hearing
more about it, being on the mailing list, or
have suggestions, please contact sheila@sheilahahn.com.

temple Israel also
reminds people of the Refugee Empowerment
Project, http://www.repmemphis.org/,
which may be of interest to many of us. Among
other things, it needs school supplies,
volunteer English tutors, and other help.
REP
Memphis serves between 200-400 refugees mostly
from Africa and Asia, working primarily in the
Binghampton neighborhood.

Have you visited
the new Crosstown Concourse yet? The old Sears
Tower is occupied again, with the Church Health
Center as a major tenant. As Mayor Strickland
remarked in a recent newsletter, "at Crosstown
Concourse, the old Sears Crosstown
building, you can have a cup of coffee, eat
lunch or work out at the Church Health YMCA.
The Crosstown building is alive again, and the
neighborhood is already starting to feel the
ripple effects."

Caritas
village is undergoing renovations and is
closed for a couple of months. Groups that
meet there are seeking alternate sites. If you
are involved in any group that meets there, do
check with your group to find where it will be
meeting (and I'd be happy if you'd let me
know!)

The Dixon
art gallery has a relevant exhibit, "Power and
Piety, Spanish Colonial Art", through Sept 24.
Power & Piety is
filled with works of fine and decorative art
created for the many churches that populated
Latin America, religious works of art created
for the home, and objects intended for private
devotional use.. The Dixon is open Tuesday
through Saturday, 10 am - 5 pm,
and Sunday, 1 - 5 pm.
Calvary Episcopal Church is a sponsor, and a
bulletin from Calvary gets you free admission!

From the Community Clothes Closet
at Calvary Episcopal:
Bring men’s shoes, men’s work boots, pants,
jeans, socks, belts, eyeglasses, and
sweatshirts or hoodies. We always need
blankets, small toiletries, and sleeping bags.
We are not able to accept women’s clothing at
this time. We open our Community Clothes
Closet every Sunday morning;
come one Sunday and help
our guests shop or anytime during the week to
help organize. Contact Debbie Balling.
(My impression is that Manna House
is usually happy to receive clothing useful for
homeless women.)

On August 3 a small group from
Balmoral Presbyterian had a tour of Temple
Israel. I mention this as the sort of
interfaith thing that any group might like
to organize. Mosques, Churches, Synagogues,
Hindu and Buddhist temples, etc., are
generally very receptive to such
requests. Long experince shows that
the best way to start getting to know
someone else is to go visit them in their
own place.

There is a very nice memorial
article about Art Wolff at http://jcpconnect.org/saba-to-every-scout-the-legacy-of-art-wolff-lz/
Art worked very hard with the Boy Scouts and
on interfaith projects. I think an event he
promoted at Masjid As-Salaam was the first
time a group of young Scouts visiting froim
Israel was invited to have dinner and meet
with young people at a mosque in the US.

I'm also very sad to note
the passing of Younis Sherif. He was
along-time leader in the Memphis Muslim
community, an organizer of medical and
social services, and active in visiting
hospital patients. On at least one occasion
when Eunice Ordman was hospitalized, he got
there before our Rabbi. His hospital visits
to Eunice always caused interesting
discussions with the nurses (not least since
"Eunice" and "Younis" are pronounced
identically.) These discussions had an
interfaith educational element - many nurses
don't know yet that when a Muslim patient
asks for Hallal food, kosher food (which
most hospitals know how to provide) is also
hallal - although I hear that there
have been a few occasions at St. Jude's when
a patient's family arriving from the
Middle East does not understand this and an
imam has had to be called to explain it to
them!

There has again been nasty vandalism at the in
Murfreesboro, Tennessee. (It does make me
happy to be in Memphis.) Churches or church
groups in Memphis might want to contact their
corresponding groups in Murfreesboro to remind
them of the importance of maintaining good
communication with the Muslim organization there
and in joining to condemn violence and vandalism
based on religion. A Muslim group reminds
us "It's obvious that some amongst us have not
learned that hatred against any one group, hurts
all of us, and that targeting of any one faith
community threatens all Americans' collective
religious liberties."

Tickets are now available for the October 23
diner for Facing History. (see that date below)

MIFA's "Meals on Wheels" now serves 2200 seniors
daily. They need more volunteers, especially in
the summer when some regular volunteers go on
vacation. Contact Isaiah Swanson at (901)
529-4521. Can your house or worship or
other group let members know of this need?

The Episcopal Diocese of Memphis has formed a
search committee to begin the process of
selecting their next bishop.
Holy Communion Episcopal Church is seeking a
part-time sexton (not open to members of the
same church.)

There is an appeal from Jewish Community
Partners for information about elderly Jews with
limited mobility or other problems who may need
assistance but may not be in touch with Jewish
organizations that might be able to assist them.
The contact person is
bzuckerbrot-finkelstein(at)jcpmemphis.orgThere is a new web site and
newsletter for Jewish Seniors at https://memphisjewishseniors.org/

Calvary Episcopal, downtown, has free docent-led tours of
the building (stained glass windows, architecture, etc.)
Fridays from 11 am to 1 pm, and after 10 AM church Sundays
(Sundays starting June 18). For appropriate
donations, group tours and organ demonstrations are
available at other times. They need
appropriate men's clothinjg, blankets, etc., for their
community clothes closet.

Mosques are still having evening events, including
suppers, during Ramadan. At Masjid As-Salaam there is a
short prayer around 7:45 PM, a snack, a short prayer
service, and then a large meal (around *:20 or so). All
welcome (men and women in separate rooms) and I've
found it a wonderful time to chat with Muslim neighbors.

There is a website for the city of Memphis "planning
process" at http://www.memphis3point0.com/
I don't see an obvious interfaith connection, so I
won't list their activities regularly below, but I will
note this once that there are public meetings
June 22 at the Stax Museum, 926 E. McLemore; June 27 at Ballet
Memphis, 7950 Trinity Road; and June 29 at the Memphis Brooks Museum
of Art, 1934 Poplar. Each meeting will last from 5:30 to 7 p.m. At
this round of meetings, the Memphis 3.0 comprehensive planning team
will present on its key findings to date and moderate a Q&A so
you can learn more about where the process stands.

Thistle &
Bee: Visit Thistle & Bee at the Overton Park
Farmers’ Market every Thursday, 3 - 7 p.m. The booth
is in the Pavilion, on the East Parkway side of the
park. You can purchase Thistle & Bee’s herbal
rubs, herbal tea, lavender lemonade, and more. All
money raised helps change the lives of women who are
survivors of prostitution and trafficking. Learn more
at http://thistleandbee.org

I'm back in Memphis for a
week between travels, enjoying seeing people. Religious
life can be a bit quiet here in the summer - the church
Wednesday evening suppers I usually go to are in abeyance,
for example. Of course during Ramadan, when observant
Muslims fast sunrise to sunset. Masjid As-Salaam has a
supper every night at about 8:05 PM. And the breakfasts
every Wednesday at St Mary's Episcopal, following the
brief 8 AM service (with musicians). Balmoral
Presbyterian has a sack lunch the first Wednesday of June,
July, August at 11:30 AM.

When traveling I often find
contacts with Mormon missionaries very helpful. More than
once, when I've been in a place where my language skills
are weak and then tourist bureau has not been helpful with
directions to e.g. a synagogue or mosque, the local Mormon
missionaries have given me directions. So while the
article was probably printed for gender-related reasons, I
found a New York Tines article about Mormon missionaries
of interest: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/12/style/modern-love-white-shirt-black-nametag-big-secret.html

Not exactly "Memphis
in the news", but Rep. Marsha Blackburn (7th Congressional
District, which starts in the far eastern suburbs of
Memphis) got some national press for introducing and
advocating a bill just passed by Congress and signed by
the President, allowing our internet service providers to
gather and sell information about us without our
consent. The Washington Post article is at "How
Congress dismantled federal Internet privacy rules",http://wapo.st/2r68t9T?tid=ss_mail&utm_term=.66f67e80baff.
Lest you think politics is highly expensive, the Post
reports only $20,500 in donations to Blackburn in
connection with this bill.

MIFA's 30th Annual
No-Go Gala:You are
cordially invited not to attend MIFA's 30th annual
No-Go Gala. Instead of a night out, share a
sentiment of good cheer with family and friends. Stay home and
send a note. Then, donate your
expenses for a fancy party to MIFA. Your gift will help
sustain MIFA's high-impact programs, which support the
independence of vulnerable seniors and families in crisis.

Belatedly: Cinco de Mayo(pronounced:
[ˈsiŋko đe ˈmaʝo]; Spanish for "Fifth of May") is a
celebration held on May 5. The date is observed to
commemorate the Mexican Army's unlikely victory over
French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862,
under the leadership of General Ignacio Zaragoza.

The Church Health Center web page at https://churchhealth.org/
Celebrates their move to "Crosstown", the old Sears Tower
near North Parkway
(1350 Concourse Avenue). If you have not visited,
tourists are welcome! The Church Health Center
also has more events than I can list here,
see https://churchhealth.org/events/

MIFA, The Metropolitan
Inter-Faith Association, started after the assassination
of Martin Luther King. It is a major charity of the city
and a wonderful example of interfaith work.
Its annual report is on line at https://www.mifa.org/financials?bblinkid=46167678&bbemailid=3830566&bbejrid=275307817
It is of interest that about 63% of its income comes from
private donations -in addition to the many hours of
volunteer service by members of many faiths, includinge.g.
delivering meals-on-wheels.

The
"school vouchers" issue has again been put off for a
year by the state legislature. There is an article in
the Tri-State Defender, for example, athttp://tsdmemphis.com/news/2017/apr/27/plan-school-vouchers-tennessee-hold-again/
This is a lively subject of discussion among readers
of this page - e.g. many feel the vouchers are a
pro-segregation tactic, while others feel they are
essentialfor the viability of religious-based schools
- not the least, some Roman Catholic schools that have
majority-Black or majority-Hispanic student
populations trying to escape from chronically
underfunded public schools.

Masjid Ar-Rahman, like the Memphis Islamic Center, seems
to be on its way to what one might call "megachurch"
proportions. The description of the next building phase is
at http://files.ctctcdn.com/98c2aa0a001/6de2ac0b-b072-4ceb-ba3f-438739151ee5.pdf
April 13.
I've been a bit slow to get back
here as my friend here in Germany fell, broke a finger badly, and
I've been pressed into service as driver and assistant.

"MIFA was the first story featured by a
new website called Watch Love Work. Once a week for the next year,
Watch Love Work will share stories as a gift of love from Memphis
to the world in memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. . Click here
to watch the inaugural episode that highlights one of our longtime
MIFA Meals on Wheels volunteers, Prabhakar Parikh."

Pictures of the March 19 meal packing event at Pleasant View
School are online at http://www.memphisinterfaith.org/photos-from-the-meal-packing-event-on-march-19th-2017/
Over 50.000 meals packed for refugees and disaster victims.
(Yes, I am there - Nabil and I are the kooks wearrng kufis instead
of hair nets. This was my last big Memphis event before I headed
to Germany, where I'm caring for a friend who fell and broke her
finger badly - so I'm learning to drive in Germany and deal with
German household cooking and cleaning appliances! )

Break down the Walls is organizing small-group dinner discussions
April 4 and April 24. E-mail Courtney
courtney.t.humphreys@gmail.com to get on the mailing list or
make reservations (On March 29 for the April 4 dinners)

Campaign Nonviolence is trying to organize a major weekend event
in June. If you could come to a planning meeting on April 5 or
April 17 (6:30 at Caritas) please contact Monica
Mjuma@uthsc.edu (408) 802-8376

March 20.

The large MuslimFest at Agricenter is Saturday
March 25. (Some of their earlier announcements
mistakenly said March 26.) A major event with many groups
(Muslim and non-Muslim) actively participating. Free except for
the evening comedy show which is $10 and has been excellent in
past years.

I'm going to be traveling a great deal in the
coming several months - I'll surely be back for a few events, like
the Iftar dinner in early June - but I'll be frustrated at missing
many events. I will try to update the emails and website with
anything I hear of be e-mail, but may be a bit slower than I'd
like (as you know, I rarely get online anything I don't get told
about at least a week in advance) and may miss postal-mailed
announcements. I'll be thinking of you!

St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral will be
doing major work on its main organ and restoring a smaller
organ (think of moving 400 or so pipes, adding new pipes,
etc.) If you have any knowledge of organs or want to learn,
there are many kinds of opportunities for volunteer helpers.
Contack Jim Powell at the Cathedral.

New resale store: Dottie's Digs is a
newly renovated re-sale store located on G1 in the Trezevant Place
at Trezevant Retirement Community, 177 North Highland Street in
Memphis. The store is open the first and third Thursdays of
every month from 9:00-5:00, selling furniture, household items,
adult clothing, vintage items, jewelry, electronics and
more. All proceeds go to support the Trezevant Foundation.

March is "Women's History Month". Events at U of M are on
a calendar at http://www.memphis.edu/whm/2017/calendar2017.php
I have not listed these below, but do note the free
showing of the movie "Hidden Figures" 7 PM March 14 and a
"Black Lives Matter"
speaker 7 PM on March 15. There are many other
events.

It is impossible not to
appreciate the many thousands of dollars raised by the
Muslim community in several states and contributed for the
repair of Jewish cemeteries vandalized recently, as the
strong tendency to anti-Muslim hate crimes promoted by our
political climate spreads to anti-Jewish threats and
actions as well. Locally, a letter from the
Memphis Islamic Center to the major Memphis Jewish charity
(Jewish Community Partners) says“An attack on one faith is an attack on
all faiths. We stand firmly with your community in
solidarity to fight hate, prejudice, and religious
intolerance. Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, xenophobia, and
racial discrimination are different faces to the same ugly
and evil ideology…We all have seen and learned from the
lessons of history the dire consequences of not standing
up in unity and firmly opposing any transgression by hate
groups. We will not stay silent, nor stand by idly, while
the rights of any community are being violated.”

The Catholic archbishop of Chicago
has instructed churches and schools not to voluntarily
allow immigration enforcement agents onto their property.
Cardinal Blase Cupich's letter to priests means that his
archdiocese is joining the hundreds of churches around the
country who have pledged not to cooperate with immigration
enforcement. Under President Trump, Immigration and
Customs Enforcement agents have been pushing the
boundaries of preexisting policies on sensitive locations
like churches. In one case, they even laid in wait outside
a church hypothermia shelter to ambush immigrants as they
were leaving.
There is still plenty of room in the Spring classes at the
Memphis School of Servant Leadership.
Basic list of activites at http://www.servantleadership-memphis.org/services.html
Some things are Christian oriented, but open to all. If
you are trying to figure out what you'd like to do by way
of
volunteer or self-improvement activities, this is a
wonderfully supportive and helpful group of people.
Highly recommended!

It is impossible not to notice when our friends get their
names in the paper, even in bizarre circumstances. The
list of people that the Commercial Appeal reports need
"escorts" in Cityy Hall includes "the Rev. Elaine
Blanchard, who officiated a gay marriage in Memphis the
day the U.S. Supreme Court ruled state bans on gay
marriage were unconstitutional and who took part in Black
Lives Matter protests last year; Brad Watkins, executive
director of the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center".
Congratulations on your activism, Brad and Elaine!

Constance
Abbey (www.facebook.com/constanceabbey.org)
is a non-profit located in two houses on Hamlin Place
facing St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral. They advocate for
neighborhood causes, hold worship services, host
gatherings, and invite neighbors for hospitality. They
need outdoor furniture. If you have extra, please
email margery@constanceabbey.org.

The
long awaited Container for shipping Clothing and Toys that
were donated for the people of Yemen has finally arrived
and is on the premises of Masjid As Salam at 1065
Stratford Road this week starting Wednesday 2/22/2017 for
a WEEK. Clothes or toys wanted, new or in good
conditioin.

February 9

The local charity Porter-Leath is launching a major
initiative to improve child care programs in the city -
with training programs for child care workers leading to
appropriate certificate or degrees, improved nutrition
guidelines, and so on. If your house of worship or other
organization has a child care program, they would like to
hear from you. It is their expectation that they
will find funding sources that will meet the costs of
training your child care workers who commit to the
program, that is, they hope to have no cost to your
organization or worker(s). http://www.porterleath.org/901-577-2500

The American Association of University Women has given us
permission to post a flier on "How to talk to your
Legislators", designed for upcoming visits by the AAUW to
Nashville. but in the present political climate it may be
of wider interest. It is at http://MemphisIRG.org/AAUW_Visit.pdf
In this context, I remind you that the page Eunice Ordman
prepared years ago on how to write your congressman,
newspaper editors, etc.,
is still online athttp://ordman.net/Eunice/Political_Letter_Writing.html

You may want to be aware that TSA at Airport security is
going to stop accepting drivers licenses from several
states as ID for travel, perhaps on the theory that they
are too easily forged. Tennessee licenses do still work,
but if you have friends / family in other states (or
students whose home is in another state) you may want to
check. The most recent information I could find was
at https://www.dhs.gov/current-status-states-territories.

While it was not something I could post here earlier, I
note with interest the meeting between youth groups of
Farmington Presbyterian Church and THe Memphis
Islamic Center on February 8. I also want to mention
the death a few days ago of Art Wolff, who worked
tirelessly for many years for a variety of issues,
including Shelby Farms, the Boy Scouts, and interfaith
contacts for youth.

I have been delighted with the good turnout and peaceful
nature of the demonstrations in Memphis recently about
rights of immigrants and refugees. It has been nice to see
some our interfaith regulars being conspicuous in the news
photographs.

It is impossible not to comment on the refusal of the US
to admit Muslims from various countries (or, presumably
Jews, as many Jews hold Iranian passports and Trump has
said he will admit "Christians") (later modified to he
will admit "minorities" but if it is a Muslim-only ban it
is clearly illegal.) As a former computer science
teacher, I've had many students who spoke Arabic, and were
in demand from US companies (FedEx, computer and software
companies, others) who needed salesmen, trainers, etc.,
who speak Arabic due to having business in Arabic-speaking
countries. At present, long-term US residents employed by
US companies and presently temporarily overseas
working for US companies are not being readmitted to the
US. It is too early to tell if Memphis families have lost
their breadwinner; but it is immediate that many
local college graduates will not be able to get the US
jobs they typically got in the past, and that American
universities will have a significant drop in foreign
students (many of whom pay full out-of-state tuition -
education is one of our major high-paying "exports").

One prominent Rabbi, on the issue of how we treat
refugees, quotes (Deuteronomy 23: 16-17): "You shall
not deliver to their master slaves who have escaped from
their master to you; they shall dwell with you, in your
midst in whatever place they shall choose within your
gates, where they feel best; you shall not oppress them."

January 27

The Chinese New Year (Year of the
Rooster) starts Jan 28.

I've become acquainted with a
remarkable pamphlet placed online by Second Presbyterian
Church that deserves to be much more widely known. It is
about 60 pages long, with remarkably good descriptions of
a great many Memphis Charities that have use for volunteer
services. Reading it is also a fascinating way
to learn more about Memphis and the creativity of the
people of Memphis. Please pass the link on to others
you know, especially people like youth group leaders,
adult Sunday School leaders, and the like. Click
here to download the PDF. Download
the 2016-2017 Volunteer Ministries Handbook

I can't get to anywhere near all the
events here, but occasionally I get a fit of activity -
On Wednesday Jan 18 I attended the breakfast at St.
Mary's Episcopal Cathedral (a packed house for the
communion service beforehand, the sort of
shoulder-to-shoulder I rarely see in Memphis except in
the mosques!, then a breakfast, sandwiches for the
homeless to take along for lunch, a very cheerful and
active group of volunteers, a lot of other activities -
art group, discussion groups, etc.)
I then had lunch at
Temple Israel, with Rabbi Feivel Strauss leading a
discussion of some colorful Jewish "stories" from
classical Jewish literature - e.g. Rabbi Joshua,
who asked the Angel of Death to let him hold the knife
as they journeyed to the next world, and then argued
with Goid when God told Joshua he had to give the knife
back, the angel needed it for his work... .
And for dinner I went to
the Wednesday evening dinner at Second Presbyterian,
excellent food and then good discussions, including a
talk by Judge Christopher Craft speaking on Memphis
social problems, with special emphasis on one-parent
families. He's had to deal e,g, with mothers who have
repeated pregnancies and multiple children (no birth
control, no man in tghe house since if there were one
they would lose some welfare payments) who are in court
repeatedly for shoplifting Pampers or other baby
supplies. A remarkable discussion of causes of these
problems and possible ways to help. He'll be back again
January 25 for the last in his three-talk series.
January 14,

Well, I missed letting you know of
the first meeting of the Spring Short Courses with Mitzi
Minor at the Memphis Theological Seminary.
The announcement is at http://memphisirg.org/MTS_Spring_2017.pdf
(Thursday mornings)

And I missed listing a few other events which gave me less
than one week's notice. Well, I can't do everything...
Among other things,
Dr. Alim Khandekar has been inaugurated as this year's
President of Masjid As-Salaam, and Dr. M Moinuddin as
Vice-President; both have been
very active in interfaith work in Memphis.
The Memphis Bar Association is offering a free legal aid
clinic the second Saturday of each month at the Hooks
library, 10 am-noon,
and a special session at the Cossit library (downtown)
January 23rd.

Special thanks to the Wednesday dinner at St John's
Episcopal, January 11: The talk by Rev James Netters was
remarkable. He is 90, has been a Memphis Pastor for
30 years, and was able to tell stories of the first
African-Americans on the Memphis City Council and the
Garbage Strike (he marched in the row behind Martin Luther
King Jr., and was beaten by the police.)

January 6, 2017:

Hilarion Capucci, the exiled Greek Catholic
Archbishop of Jerusalem (Melikite) who dedicated his
life to defending Palestine died on Jan 1 in Rome,
Italy. He was born in 1922, in Aleppo, Syria.
Capucci will be buried next to his mother in
Lebanon. He worked actively for many years for
cooperation between the various faiths in Palestine.

While "Christmas Giving" is mainly over, the need
for warm clothing for the homeless is as critical as
ever. Balmoral Presbyterian collects warm coats;
Manna House, Calvary Episcopal, and several others
collect almost any warm clothing.

Chris Dempsey is now in place as the new minister of
Unity Church of Practical Christianity.

Downtown Church at Clayborn Temple.
from the Commercial Appeal: http://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/local/2017/01/01/new-year-brings-new-life-historic-clayborn-temple/96064262/
Excerpt: "Rebuilding
a temple takes time, but Downtown Church is aiming for
2018.
The congregation held its first regular
services Sunday at the former Clayborn Temple on the south end
of Downtown, a site with historical significance because of
its role as a hub for the 1968 strike that would mark Dr.
Martin Luther King’s last days.
But the ornate Romanesque structure at 294
Hernando St. hasn’t hosted a church service since it was
boarded up just before the turn of the millennium. The process
of restoring it is vast."...

Rabbi Michael Lerner, speaking at a major Muslim
convention in Toronto, spoke of the Jewish support
for American Muslims at this time. In his e-mail he
pointed to the following published (interfaith)
statement:http://www.teachingtheologians.org/open-letter.html

Netflix is starting to make available the Israeli TV
series Faudahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fauda
The reviews I have seen suggest that the movie,
while about Israeli anti-terrorist
(anti-Palestinian?) operations, has far more
developed Palestinian characters than one usually
sees on American or Israeli television. If
anyone is watching, I'd be interested in hearing
what you think.

November 22.

The Lynching Sites on Memphis Project (invitation
from Randell Mullins of First Congo). A project to
recall and mark sites of lynchings in the Memphis
area (see the website for more.) If, like me,
you have traveled in Germany, you may have seen
memorial markings here where Jews were captured or
killed.

"Our meetings
are open to all and generally held at 5 p.m. on the 2nd and 4th
Mondays at Caritas Village, 2509 Harvard. Our Facebook page
@lynchingsitesmem and our website www.lynchingsitesmem.org

will always have
updates."

Our next two
meetings are Monday, Nov. 28 and Monday, Dec 12. (Only one meeting
in December)

Speakers available:
The Memphis Police department provides speakers
for appropriate groups including houses of worship (e.g. adult or
youth groups.) One I attended last month had a speaker whose
official topic was what to do in the presence of an active
shooter, e.g. terrorist. (Flee if possible, hide if
possible, fight if no other option. If fleeing, keep hands visible
so police can see you are not carrying a weapon.) I found
much more interesting some of the other materials he brought to
distribute - e.g. how to act if isolated at home by an earthquake
or major freeze, signs to hang out windows saying "I'm OK" or "I
need help", how to mark your car to tell police that if you are
found unconscious after an accident, medical information is in the
glove compartment.

November 27, start
of Advent. Somewhat
unexpectedly, the best Advent sermon I ever heard
was at Masjid As-Salaam, at the foot of Covington
Pike. John the Baptist gets a much better
press in the Qur'an than he does in the Bible, and
the speaker had some fun with the fact that John
gets to baptize Jesus rather than the other way
around (it's a traditional Jewish baptism, and, yes,
several synagogues in Memphis have dunking tanks for
the purpose.) It seems to be little mentioned
in Sunday Schools and sermons, but did you know that
archaeologists have dug up the minutes of the a
synagogue in Alexandria, Egypt, and have the
record of a collection being taken up to help a
particular group of refugees - parents of young
children arriving in Egypt fleeing from a character
by the name of King Herod. These minutes are
from about 40 years before the time of Jesus - this
was the first King Herod, the one in whose time the
Roman Soldiers arrived at the Temple - but Roman
records make it pretty clear that the Herod of
Jesus' time was as fearful of young possible rivals
as was the first Herod.

My good friend of many years, V.V. Raman (Hindu
theologian and retired Professor of Physics at
Rochester Institute of Technology,) has just
published the first volume of his book Bhagavad
Gita: Non-Traditional and Cross Cultural
Reflections. Amazon and Kindle.

The
Memphis Islamic Center is pleased to announce the
appointment of Br. Safi Khan as our new Youth and
Outreach Director.
St. John's Episcopal announces the new choirmaster
and Organist is Mr. Brandon Dumas

The Muslim month of Dhul-Hijjah began Sept
2. The mosque sermon I attended on Sept 2
would have been just at home in a synagogue one
month from now. Last year the calendars were in
unusual synchronization but the Jewish calendar
had a leap month last spring and we are now off by
a month. This month for the Muslims, next month
for the Jews, good deeds count extra in the first
ten days, with each religion's most solemn holiday
on the tenth day of the month. Eid El-Adha, when
the Muslims commemorate Abraham's willingness to
sacrifice his son (Ishmael), is on September 12.
Jews have Rosh Hashanah (the new year) starting at
sunset October 2, with Yom Kippur (the Day of
Atonement) starting at sunset on October 11.

August 22,
2016.
Unity Church of
Practical Christianity is a drop off point for items
donated to help those flooded out in Baton Rouge.
Items of particular need are: Diapers
Wipes Formula Clothing
(clean) Surgical masks Work
gloves Boots Cleaning products
Paper towels. Our church lobby will be open
Sunday from 9am til 1pm and Monday through Thursday next
week 8am til 5pm.

I'm very excited by
the WIN Labor Day Picnic Sept 5 and the major interfaith
discussion at St. Georges' Episcopal Church Sept 6.
I hope to see lots of friends there!

There was an excellent e-mail (not apparently available on
the web) by Memphis organization BRIDGES, containing in
part
<<

Our hearts have
broken anew each day as the headlines keep coming: Four young
children stabbed to death right here in Shelby County; Alton
Sterling and Philando Castile shot to death by police in
Louisiana and Minnesota, respectively; at least five police
officers murdered while on duty at a peaceful Black Lives
Matter rally in Dallas; a former Illinois congressman and a
Nashville police officer posting messages of hate on social
media in the aftermath. Even now, these headlines keep coming.

.....

We
have a sacred job to do.
On Monday, our 11th grade
Bridge Builder conferences will begin at the
University of Memphis. These will include a
particularly challenging and powerful community
action series wherein youth and police will come
together in an effort to build relationships and
respect. Our staff has worked tirelessly to create
a process that brings out the best in our students
and our law enforcement officers, and it will
surely be tested.
>>

There will probably be another two-week
gap until the next update as next week I'll be at the annual
meeting of the Institute on Religion in an Age of Science,
an annual discussion between scientists and theologians. The
topic this year is the nature of knowledge, as seen by "the
two sides." Lectures and discussions are on topics like
"What are the roles of rationality and non-rationality for
scientific and religious knowing?" "How do we know
ourselves?" http://www.iras.org/pospapers.html

Incidentally, Rev. Girata will be
leaving Calvary after four years here. for a church in
Dallas, Texas. He has done an excellent job of
continuing Calvary's interfaith outreach and will be much
missed. There will be a good-bye reception on July 10.

On June 13 the "Memphis Interfaith"
group, the Muslim originated interfaith group in Memphis,
held its annual Iftar Dinner.
This was spectacular as usual. There were talks by
Jewish, Christian, and Muslim speakers, Congressman Cohen,
Mayor Rout.
There were talks about the then brand-new Orlando attack, as
well as about the recent memorial service for Muhammad Ali.
Awards for service to
the Interfaith community were given to Janice Vanderhaar and
to "Dr. Eunice Ordman and Dr. Edward Ordman."
I felt extremely honored on behalf of my late wife and of
course myself. I can't resist pointing out that while
Eunice taught college from 1946 to 1988, she never did
actually complete her Ph.D.. In the early 1950's she was the
only woman Ph.D. candidate in physics at Rutgers University.
When a critical examination was scheduled for they day her
first child was due, she asked if she could take the exam
early. "No," they said, "there is no precedent for that. No
one ever made that request before." I will note
that Rutgers has always been a very welcoming
university for ethnic and religious minorities, and I assume
that they adjusted to women students in due course, after
the initial shock of dealing with Eunice. As several
speakers noted at Eunice's memorial service, she had a
record of rocking the boat.

June 10.

I'll shortly be leaving town for the summer. I will still be
reachable by e-mail and will continue to maintain this site,
probably on my recent "every week or two" schedule - Edward
Ordman

MIFA
has a special need for volunteers to move some
non-perishable food items on Saturdays.
"We are in special
need of volunteers to deliver shelf stable boxes
for our No Hungry Senior program on Saturdays. By
delivering non-perishable foods to seniors each
week, we are able to increase the number of
vulnerable seniors we serve. To sign up,
email Isaiah at iswanson@mifa.org
or call (901) 529-4521. Or, learn
more about all of our volunteer
opportunities."

Michael Danziger, the son of Rabbi Emeritus Harry
Danziger of Temple Israel, has been ordained as a
Rabbi (Hebrew Union College graduation, May 21)

May 30:

Remember to register for the IFTAR
Dinner June 12 (below), one of the year's major
interfaith events

Tikkun Magazine is a liberal Jewish publication
with occasional interesting comments on current
Israeli politics. With both US and Israeli
politics doing odd things this year, this
article may be of interest:http://www.tikkun.org/nextgen/on-lieberman.

A Jewish organization has long subsidized trips
of Jewish young people to Israel to connect with
their heritage. The Arab-American
Anti-Discrimination Committee (http://ADC.org)
recently circulated word of a trial run for youn
people of Palestinian heritage, of a similar
program, sponsored by the "Holy Land Christian
Ecumenical Foundation". I know little more
about this but would be fascinated to hear if
anyone knows or learns more.
https://kthps.org/join/ or just http://kthps.org

April 11:
"This year, Equal Pay Day falls on Tuesday,
April 12, 2016. This date symbolizes how far into the
year women must work to earn what men earned in the
previous year. White female full-time workers are paid
79 cents for every dollar paid to white male workers.
The wage gap is even more staggering for women of color.
Black female full-time workers make 60 cents to a white
male worker’s dollar. Latinas make the lowest at 55
cents to a white male worker’s dollar."

April 8:
Eunice and I have long been fans of a
group called Global Volunteers. It is a chance to
travel and meet people and learn about the rest of the
world rather differently (and sometimes less
expensively) than conventional commercial travel. We've
been to Poland and China with them and to the Ukraine in
a similar program. They are presently seeking short-term
volunteers to help teach English in Hanoi. You pay your
own way, but it is tax-deductible. https://globalvolunteers.org/teach-learn-and-wage-peace-in-vietnam/

Two websites that may be of
interest are:http://wherewelivemidsouth.org
which seems to have a large amount of
environmental, health, and economic information that
you can drill down to by neighborhood or larger
regions, andhttp://wheretogivemidsouth.org
(a website of the Community Foundation of
Greater Memphis) which has a remarkably large
indexed list of local charities, as well as links to
allow one to donate by credit card or by a
donor-advised donation if you have a fund at the
Community Foundation of Greater Memphis, the Jewish
Foundation of Memphis, or Hope Christian Community
Foundation.

April 6:
There is grave concern due to the efforts of a Tennessee
state legislator to fan extreme anti-Muslim sentiment
within the state legislature. Please sign the petition, or
write legislators yourself. This automated system will
even tell you the names and e-mail addresses of your state
legislators! (I have had this
request the same day from Muslim, Jewish, and Catholic sources!

April 2:
The US continues to restrict travel of Muslims - while we
routinely admit without a visa citizens of many countries
(e.g. most of Europe) we no longer extend that courtesy to
citizens of those countries who have visited a
growing list of Muslim-majority countries, even if it was
just to visit a relative. In addition, there is an
increasing move to over-police Muslim neighborhoods within
the US, as called for by certain presidential
candidates. See e.g. http://www.salon.com/2016/03/26/ted_cruz_has_already_won_his_absurd_plan_to_police_muslims_is_already_happening/

March 22:
I note with interest on the website
of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Memphis an article
reporting very affirmatively on a US District Court ruling
allowing a Sikh to wear a beard while on active duty in
the US Army. While I do have an interest is both
"religious freedom" issues and what one might call
"smaller religion issues" in the US, it is of interest
that I first heard of this decision from the local Roman
Catholics!

March 15:
Steve Sondheim, known to many of us,
was an official delegate to the Global Warming conference
in Paris, representing the Sierra Club, an NGO. He
has spoken at a number of places about his experience
there. He believes strongly that we have a moral
obligation to the planet and to future generations to act
far more responsibly in our use of natural
resources. He was also a moving force behind the
selection of this year's speaker at the Vanderhaar
Symposium April 21, Chad Pregrake, who has been a moving
force in cleaning up America's waterways - including water
near and important to Memphis. See http://www.gvanderhaar.org/

March 2:We had a remarkably fine party on Feb. 21 - the
joke afterwards was that if one person had been willing
to convert, we'd have had Two Jews, Two Catholics, Two
Protestants, Two Muslims, and Two Hindus. One
parent brought along her son, looking for people to
interview for a paper he is writing in high school -
this was a great idea, pass the word that we can easily
provide contacts like that as well as interesting books
and movies for History, Facing History, and some
other subjects. (Also, of course, for college papers.)

Due to a conflict with a basketball game, there was an
unfortunately low turnout for last Thursday's Facing
History event, a remarkable Gospel Musical about a slave
revolt in Charlseton, South Carolina, in 1823.
This had some remarkable music in it, including some
songs that I think may become the songs for peace and
freedom marches of the future. ("They cannot kill the
spirit, when we march in Jesus' name" - of course
"freedom" also fits the meter.)

By a happy coincidence, the September 28 New Yorker
magazine had a long article by David Remnick about
Charleston, including the history of that early
rebellion and the present state of the "Mother Emmanuel"
church, which was built on the site of the Black church
burned by whites in that rebellion and where there was a
recent mass shooting. It is online at http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/09/28/blood-at-the-root
If you hit a subscription wall let me know.

As usual, the Calvary Lenten Lecture series is being
outstanding. If you can't get there at noon
Tuesday to Friday or on Wednesday evenings, the noon
talks are online, linked from http://calvarymemphis.org/lentenpreaching
by the button "Sermon Archive"

Feb
20:I've
been told that I failed to remind people
that early voting is in progress for the
Tennessee presidential primary - you can
still "early vote", without the lines that
may be there on election day, on Monday and
Tuesday. A web search for "Memphis early
voting" will quickly bring you to the
Election Commission page with hours and
addresses. The election will be March 1.

Feb 11 - The "Allegro Concerts" list is back on line after
the store moved. See our "Concert listing" page,
link up above.
Latest on-line from Teaching
Tolerance Magazine:http://now.eloqua.com/es.asp?s=129155792&e=23286&elq=9dbf4e35ea2f4dd496d023c04df9963b
February 26 is the deadline
for current 6th throuigh 12 graders to apply for the
Bridge Builders program, http://bridgesusa.org/youth-programs/bridge-builders-collaborate/program-overview/
From the Memphis
Islamic Center: "We are looking for a full time Imam who
shall work closely and under the guidance of our resident
scholar, Shaykh Yasir Qadhi. We want a dynamic leader who
can lead the prayers, provide religious guidance,
establish and promote educational and extracurricular
programs for adults and youth, and engage with the larger
community to promote friendship and understanding between
Muslims and non-Muslims in the community."
Pleasant View School, the
Muslim Day School, has an English as a Second Language
Course Saturdays 11-1.

I want to note the existence of a series
of special movie and video events (priced higher
than usual movies - check the website) from http://fathomevents.com
. This series includes operas,
ballets, classic movies, and other programs most
of which do not qualify for inclusion in an
"interfaith" list but may interest many of you.
Note that not every event in the series is
available in Memphis, you must click through
individually to check.
The operas, classic movies, and shows about art
all seem to be at the Paradiso, but some events
(including some of obvious religious interest
and some excellent ballets) are in no theater
closer than Tupelo or Little Rock.

On January 23 we attended
the Peace and Justice dinner. Steve Cohen spoke. Zandria
Robinson, who teaches at Rhodes College, gave a
fascinating talk on "Intersectionality" - discrimination
against people with multiple identifications. An example
was an early lawsuit against General Motors for failing to
employ any Black women. The judge said he could hold they
discriminated againt Blacks as they had Black male
production line workers. He couldn't hold they
discriminated against Women, as they employed white women
as secretaries. Thus, he ruled, the failure to employ
Black women was nothing he could act on - it was not
discrimination against any protected category.
On January 24 we
attended the concert at St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, by
the musicians who perform at their Wednesday 8 AM service.
This service is followed by a breakfast which is like the
service is open to everyone, and they say it now attracts
about 200 people - providing not only a midweek church
service for those who want it, but a free breakfast for a
great many homeless people. If you'd like to meet some of
our Memphis homeless people, every Wednesday morning
provides a chance. The social hall at St. Mary's has
a remarkable set of posters about services provided by the
church during the great Memphis Yellow Fever epidemic - it
ought to be on the list of city tourist attractions.

January 22, 2016:

MIFA, the main interfaith charity in Memphis, needs more
volunteers - for Meals on Wheels, and also people to be
trained to serve as Ombudsmen to monitor conditions and
heare residents' complaints in nursing homes and other
facilities. For more information about
volunteering, email Isaiah at iswanson@mifa.org.

Eunice and Edward Ordman have a grand-niece who works for
an interfaith organization in California called the
"United Religions Initiative", http://www.uri.org/.
They did an hour television special recently on CBS which
is on-line at www.uri.org/cbs.
Our niece is Sari Heidenreich, who gives a 4-minute
talk (the Christian one) starting at about 13:56 minutes
into the show.

12/27/2015
This web page and newsletter seems to be becoming
a biweekly project for me instead of a weekly one,
which causes me to miss a few more events, like a
Muhammad's Birthday dinner (just before Christmas
this year - next year it comes the usual eleven
days +/- earlier, while the Jewish calendar gets a
leap month and Chanukah will just about coincide
with Christmas.

How much should I comment on Islamophobia? It is
hard to resist commenting. One Jewish page against
it is at http://www.againstislamophobia.org/
(Thanks Janice Vanderhaar, for the pointer!)

I was horrified recently when the US refused to
admit some British citizen tourists to the US
apparently since they were Muslim; I'm rather
hoping that the British government will put
pressure on the US over this. The US is
notoriously lax in defending the travel options of
its own citizens. A few years ago a Muslim
acquaintance of mine in Memphis (a US citizen) was
denied admission to Israel to care for her ailing
father and the US was unsupportive. By
contrast, at about that time, Israel denied
admission to a South African citizen of
Palestinian descent, South Africa notified Israel
that admission of a number of Israeli tourists and
businessmen would be held up until the South
African was allowed into Israel, and Israel
conceded the point immediately and let the South
African enter.

And did you notice the bizarre spectacle of
Wheaton College (Illinois) suspending a professor
who asserted that Muslims and Christians worship
the same God?

For an interesting article on the causes of
conflict - I must admit I like the ventures into
statistics here - see the Washington Post article I have discovered the reason that "Star
Wars" exists in the first place
at http://wpo.st/zsfy0

12/18/2015:

Congress is
apparently close to passing the appropriations
bill to keep the US government running
January-September 2016. There are lots of
add-ons, some relevant to us. The politicians
wanting to keep out terrorists ( or
keep out Muslims as some politicians say and some
Muslim and Jewish and Catholic sources interpret
the language) have been particularly active. E.g.,
there are 38 countrieds whose citizens are allowed
to enter the US without a visa. The House version
of the bill would deny entry (without a special
visa) to citizens of those countries who have
visited Syria, Iraq, Iran or Sudan since March 1,
2011, and that seems likely to pass. By far the
most common reason people visit those countries is
to visit their families there.

A Washington post article on the obstacles that the US
throws in the way of Muslims trying to enter the US is
at http://wpo.st/d51y0
As that article points out, it is
impossible not to see similarities with the treatment
of Jews before World War II.

12/10/2015
With a prominent
politician still making loud anti-Muslim noises it is
nice to see many voices still supporting America's
traditions of being religiously tolerant and welcoming
to immigrants.

There was not a "quick" interfaith prayer service after
the California shootings, so far as I know, given
the heavy involvement of clergy with Advent
and Chanukah. The Muslims did hold an emergency
meeting the evening of December 4, with Yasir Qadhi
speaking; I heard of it too late to report here. Does
anyone know if that talk is available on Youtube or
elsewhere? Tom Carlson and Randall
Mullins are planning an Interfaith Prayer
Service for Truth on Thursday Dec 10 at Noon at Adams
and B.B. King Blvd.

====

11/30/2015
Healthy Memphis - common Table has a website
on the subject of end-of-life planning athttp://www.planwishlive.org/
They can also provide speakers on this topic for houses of
worship or other organizations.

For teachers
and others (school, Sunday School, etc: excellent
materials about Civil Rights from
Teaching Tolerance or the Library of
Congress: see http://www.tolerance.org/ttm
. There is a web seminar on using this
material on Nov 17.

Organizations are also atarting to
collect holiday gift packjages fopr
those in need. MIFA's page on this is
at http://www.mifa.org/collect

11/3/2015

Five Memphis city council districts (2,3,4,5,7) have
run-off elections. The election day is Nov 19 but early
voting has started at the downtown office; it is at
satellite locations Nov 6 through Nov 14 except Nov 11.

Calvary Episcopal Church, downtown, reminds us that their
location attracts a great many homeless people in need of
clothes, toiletries, and the like. See their exceptionally
fine online newsletters at http://calvarymemphis.org/chroniclenewsletter;
page 4 of the October 15 issue addresses this issue.

Should I sometimes mention regular services or
events that are not at the usual hour? E.g. St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral has a Communion and
Breakfast every Wednesday at 8 AM. St Mary's will
have a new cookbook for sale from Nov 8. Temple Israel has a regular Bible discussion group
with breakfast ("Torah Study", but colloquially "Bagels
and Bible") with lox, bagels, and other goodies, at 8:45
Saturday mornings - most arrive by 8:30 to start eating
before class. (Yes, Temple Israel also has Sunday School
classes on Sunday.) Masjid Ar-Rahman has a Koran study Friday
evenings. (start at sunset - roughly 5 pm - 6:15 pm
at present)http://files.ctctcdn.com/98c2aa0a001/38a5a115-0354-454b-87b7-e6b6b116d73c.pdf
see also http://files.ctctcdn.com/98c2aa0a001/dcb49750-7b18-43c4-8958-88d32b5e15be.pdf

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf (of New York) who spoke a couple of
years ago in the Calvary Lenten Lectures, has a new book
"Defining Islamic Statehood: Measuring and Indexing
Contemporary Muslim States" ("What is the real
definition of an Islamic state? How can
it function in the modern world?")
10/20/2015
University of Memphis has its "Parents and Family
Weekend" Oct 30-November 1. While different colleges
have such events on different dates, this is a nice
reminder to let your kids or grandkids away at school
how much you love them. It was also nice to see
U of M suggesting to students in a studentr newsletter
that they acquait themselves with the local charity
Bridges, http://bridgesusa.org/

Dorothy Day House of Memphis (helping homeless
families) http://www.dorothydaymemphis.org/
is selling holiday wreaths and garlands - order now
for delivery after Thanksgiving. They may be
able to send a representative to your church to take
orders; ask!

Most Sunday Schools are at relatively predictable
hours, and I mention them here only if there is a
remarkable visiting speaker or some other special
reason. But I can't help noticing that Masjid
Ar-Rahman, at 7906 Lowrance Rd, Memphis 38125, now has
a Sunday School after its brief 6 AM service, followed
by a light brerakfast. I suspect that doesn't conflict
with some of your other scheduled activities...!
Imam Anwar Arafat may well be the local Imam most
easily understandable by non-Muslims (that category is
deliberately chosen to avoid comparison with the
excellent speaker Professor Yasir Qadhi, the
Scholar-in-residence at the Memphis Islamic Center.)

Death of Phyllis Tickle on Sept 22.
Nationally-known local author and frequent speaker
at church events in Memphis.

Phyllis
Alexander Tickle

March 12, 1934 -
September 22, 2015

Dear friends,

We are saddened to
inform you of the death Tuesday, September 22, of Phyllis Tickle, popular
lecturer, author, and dear friend of St. Mary's
Cathedral. The author of over three dozen
books, she became a leading expert on, and student
of, the Emergence
church movement, while continuing to
maintain her interest in the religion book
publishing industry.

On Friday, October
16th, visitation will be held at St. Mary's
Cathedral at 1:00 pm, followed by a Requiem
Eucharist at 3:00.

From
the Mid-South Peace and Justice
Center:"If
you haven't already heard by now, the emergency
hotline for shelter information has been
disconnected. We are so outraged that this has
happened without warning.
Now what do our
people who need emergency shelter do? It is
suggested that they go to MIFA between the hours
of 7:00a.m -3:30p.m. According
to Community Alliance for the Homeless, the
hotline is supposed to be back up in September
with a new number, but in the meantime, what are
individuals supposed to do if an emergency
situation occurs at night?"

August 20:
I've been absent from the web too
long./ Eunice and I have been enjoying our summer "up north",
and the kids, grandkids, and great-grands descended in force -
about a month of family in residence and a great many visits
from old-time friends, even one who was our student in the
1970's.

I cannot resist
commenting on recent events in the Boy Scouts, who have
recently increased flexibility in the matter of gender
orientation. My mother was a Girl Scout volunteer leader back
before I was born. When I was four my parents moved from
Massachusetts to Washington, DC, and my mother shifted to the
Campfire Girls since the DC Girl Scouts were still racially
segregated and the CAmpfire Girls were integrated. I
spent several years as a troop mascot, and when my father
asked if I wanted to be a Cub Scout, I said I wanted to be a
Blue Bird (junior Camp Fire Girl). The difference was
explained to me, and I was in due course a Cub Scout, Boy
Scout, and Explorer. Our Boy Scout troop leader was a
career Army officer - one of the best teachers I ever had of
negotiation, understanding, and how to stop and stay out of
fights. One of my uncles was a career professional Boy
Scout leader, and a nephew now works for the Boy Scout
organization. So I'm a pretty strong supporter of the
Boy Scouts and similar organizations. Eunice, of course,
spent some years as a volunteer for the YWCA in Memphis.
As a result, I've
been sorry to watch the difficulties the Boy Scouts have gone
through in recent years over gender issues. The recent
decision that the national organization would not ban
volunteer leaders due to gender orientation, but would leave
it to local sponsoring organizations to choose troop leaders
in manners consistent with their own beliefs, seems to me an
extremely reasonable solution. Of course, a great many (not
all) local Boy Scout troops are sponsored by houses of
worship. We recently had a period of several years when
(due to these disputes within the Boy Scouts) the national
organization of Reform Judaism discouraged local Reform
synagogues or temples from sponsoring Boy Scout troops.
Of course, quite a few local Jews (including Reform Jews)
remained very active in volunteer roles with the Boy Scouts.
I'm delighted that the national Reform Jewish movement is
again encouraging Boy Scout troop sponsorship; I very much
hope that the compromise reached will allow the Church of
Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) to continue their extremely high
rate of Boy Scout sponsorship and participation.

July 13:

We have to note the passing yesterday of Judge D'Army
Bailey.The Tri-State Defender notes in part:
"A
mentor and inspiration to many, Mr. Bailey – attorney,
former judge, author, founder of the National Civil Rights
Museum and always an activist – passed away at age 73,
succumbing to cancer.
" The New Tri-State Defender will
chronicle the passing of Mr. Bailey in this week’s
edition. The newspaper’s archives include this 2010 story
about Mr. Bailey’s book 'The Education of a Black
Radical.'...."

July 12:

The information sheet for the service committee ("God's
Unfinished Business") at Temple Israel, just as an example
that may interest others: http://www.timemphis.org/sites/default/files/2015
GUB info sheet_0.pdf
I'd be interested to see comparable information or other
approaches from other houses of worship.
(Balmoral Presbyterian, for example, has a web site where
one can sign up for specific times to carry in meals to
homebound people.)

The Papal encyclical on environment introduced at the UN:http://fore.yale.edu/files/Intro_of_Encyclical_at_UN_6-30-15.pdf
There are some remarks about the drafting process of the
encyclical.
July 3:
My wife and I were
traveling for the last two weeks, and missed giving notice
of many of the events held in Memphis following the
Charleston shootings. Maybe we need other volunteers to up
date either this page or a Facebook page from time to
time? But here are a few bits of news, anyway. We
really appreciate those of you who keep us on your own
faith-related mailing lists. Should we consider
having a common and accessible site collecting those
things?
There is
food served every Saturday at noon at the Indian Cultural
Center and Temple, in Eads (about a half-hour drive from
midtown, see our address page.) It is a good time to see
the fascinating building and meet the people.
The
Interfaith Youth Corps ( http://ifyc.org/
) has an interesting series of
podcasts. The talk this month is about "Hindus in
Contemporary America" and I recommend it
highly. The link is https://soundcloud.com/ifyc/hindus-in-contemporary-america.
Past talks are at https://soundcloud.com/ifyc
.
Finally, there
are about two weeks left of Ramadan. Observant Muslims
fast (no food or drink) from sunrise to sunset. Most or
all of the mosques in the city have refreshments following
the service at sunset each night, and are happy to have
visitors.

Tanvir Kazmi
has a mailing list in which he sends out Qur'an extracts;
it may interest those who enjoy details of other
religions. As a Jew I'm always interested in the
extent to which the Talmud, a major Jewish reference text,
clarifies the Jewish rules and provides work-arounds when
needed. So I enjoyed this passage sent along by Tanvir:

[Al-Baqarah 2:183] [In part] O you who believe,
fasting is decreed for you, as it was decreed for those
before you, that you may attain salvation. Specific
days; if one is ill or traveling, an equal number of
other days may be substituted. Those who can fast, but
with great difficulty, may substitute feeding one poor
person for each day of breaking the fast. If one
volunteers, it is better. But fasting is the best for
you, if you only knew. Ramadan is the month during which
the Quran was revealed, providing guidance for the
people, clear teachings, and the statute book. Those of
you who witness this month shall fast therein. Those who
are ill or traveling may substitute the same number of
other days. GOD wishes for you convenience, not
hardship, that you may fulfill your obligations, and to
glorify GOD for guiding you, and to express your
appreciation. When My servants ask you about Me, I am
always near. I answer their prayers when they pray to
Me. The people shall respond to Me and believe in Me, in
order to be guided.

June 11:
I didn't imagine I'd ever have occasion to mention horse racing
here, but I can't resist. The Triple Crown winner this year was
named American Pharaoh, and is owned by Ahmed Zayat. Zayat was
born and grew up in Cairo. He also happens to be an Orthodox
Jew. This gives me a chance to remark that the Jewish
community in Egypt was established extremely early and was for
millennia extremely prosperous and surprisingly literate. (The
great Jewish Scholar Rambam, for example, was physician to
Saladin, in Egypt.) The respect for (and care for) the written
word was apparently common to a number of religious communities in
Egypt - consider the case of the thirteen ancient texts discovered
at Nag Hammadi in 1945 - but in particular the Jewish communities
in Egypt as in many other places occasionally filled a coffin with
old records and buried it in their cemetery, and occasionally
these have been dug up by archeologists. One discovery from
such a source was the minutes of a synagogue in Alexandria, Egypt,
showing that they once took up a collection to meet the needs of a
sudden influx of rather unusual Jewish immigrants - parents of
young children who were fleeing from Israel to Egypt feeling their
children were in danger due to a new king by the name of Herod who
was killing off children who might be possible claimants to the
throne. (This was Herod the Great, about 40 years before the
birth of Jesus. We haven't found corresponding records from Jesus'
time, but Roman records record that the later Herod was also
extremely bloody.) It's a topic I address in my talk on the
Intertestamental Period whenever I can get an invitation (e.g.,
what were the Roman soldiers doing in Jerusalem in Jesus' time,
and why did the Temple Priests get along so well with them?)

The Unity Church of Practical Christianity (Walnut Grove,
well east) is seeking a new minister.
The couple Rev, Judith Crooks and Rev Donald Crooks
are serving as interim ministers. (Replaced in mid-July)

Disputes at the Vatican level sometimes make the American
press. Here's an interesting dispute at the level
of the Israeli Chief Rabbinate (which has no
authority outside Israel - but the American orthodox
Rabbis are taking a position on this one.) Eunice and I
have not met Rabbi Riskin but have visited his synagogue
in Efrat in the West Bank, to try to understand the
positions of (and controversies between) Israelis living
in the West Bank. [link lost?]

The Memphis Jewish Federation and Jewish Foundation of
Memphis are increasingly doing things jointly, as "Jewish
Community Partners." They have a calendar of Jewish
events, at
http://www.memjfed.org/community-calendar

Manna House needs volunteers to serve coffee and
hospitality on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7:30-11:30am.
The rush is from 8am-9:30am. If you can only serve for
part, this is when they need you most.
Located at 1268 Jefferson Ave., Manna House provides
hospitality to homeless Memphians.Click here to Send
your questionsif
you've got 'em. (link thanks to St. John's Episcopal)

The Common Table Health Alliance recently
released the second edition of its Status Report
on Efforts to Promote Healthy Eating and Active Living in
Memphis and Shelby County. The report features 28
organizations committed to addressing the obesity challenge with
programs and services to engage the community in more active and
productive lifestyles. To read the
entire Status Report on Efforts to Promote Healthy
Eating and Active Living in Memphis and Shelby County,
please click here.

If you'd like a hard copy of the
report, contact Chris Owens by clicking here.

The Memphis Islamic Center
offers some links to lectures about ":preparing for Ramadan",
the soon-coming month in which Muslims fast Sunrise to Sunset:

May 15: For
those who have been frustrated at the
disappearance of the Eroica concerts, I note the
recent appearance of Daniel Gilbert at the recent
Luna Nova / Beethoven Club concert on May 11.
Notice of their upcoming festival and on-line
listening to the recent concert is at http://www.lunanova.org/

Some years ago Eunice and I spent two weeks
teaching English at a children's summer camp in
Eastern Poland. This opportunity is open
again if anyone is interested. You wind up paying
your own ecpenses - but as it is volunteer work,
it is tax deductible. And it is a chance to see
Polish people and culture in a way that few
tourists can. We're happy to discuss it with
anyone interested.http://blogs.globalvolunteers.org/poland/2014/08/reymontowka-summer-camp-photos/

May 9.
The PINK PALACE MUSEUM has available free 30-day
memberships and $5 all-summer trial memberships - Pink
Palace Museum, Lichterman Nature Center,
Mallory-Neely House. A perfect activity with
kids or grandkids. "Go
to the Pink Palace Website http://www.memphismuseums.org/
Click the Free
Summer MembershipIcon on the right
and
register for your Free 30-Day or $5 Summer Trial
Membership
today"Unity Church of Practical
Christianity passes on a link to
an essay, "Five steps from Fear to
Freedom",http://www.positivelypositive.com/2015/04/23/5-steps-from-fear-to-freedom/

I've been asked again for the
links to the Calvary Lenten Lectures
of this spring, which can be watched
or listed to online.
Start at
http://www.calvarymemphis.org/lpssermonarchive which has links to
the 2015, 2014, and 2013 sermons. I
suspect that a few years before that
are also available - if you want
them and don't see them, ask me for
help.

April 3 was the anniversary of Martin Luther
King. Jr's "Mountaintop" speech. You might
enjoy the article about that speech by Scott Newstok, of
the Department of English of Rhodes College (Scott and
his wife are active organizers of, among other things,
Jewish events in midtown.) The article is online
at ow.ly/L83n8

There has been a real improvement in the Indian
Cultural Center and Temple website, at https://icctmemphis.org/icct/home/node
I'm hoping this listing of events will encourage more
of us to visit this interesting complex of buildings
and meet our Hindu neighbors.
Incidentally, they offer free Sanskrit classes on
Saturday 1 - 2:30 PM Do check their
web site (e,g, for appropriate dress) before
visiting.
Directions on ourAddresses page.

I very much enjoyed Yasir Qadhi's lecture March 29 on dealing with
Radical Islam. I'm a bit frustrated that I can't find it
online yet - when it appears will someone let me know? In the
meantime, you can find many of Yasir's talks on Youtube. A good way
to find some of his statements about ISIS (which has publicly called
for his assassination, leading to prayers for him and his family in
several Memphis churches) by a search such as https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=yasir+qadhi+isis

Comic book fans, anyone? I've encountered a string of
comic books with Muslim superheroes before, but this is
the first time I've noticed a Sikh superhero in
comic form. http://www.tolerance.org/magazine/number-49-spring-2015/feature/behind-shield
(My wife and I are huge fams of "Teaching Tolerance", a
program of the Southern Poverty Law Center that produces
free educational materials for schools, including houses
of worship educational programs.)

A friend has pointed out that I've never mention
the local Messianic Jewish Synagogue http://www.brithadasha.org/
They describe themselves as "Jewish and non-Jewish
followers of Yeshua." I've often attended the
corresponding group in Kansas City in which one of my
granddaughters is active. Largely Jewish customs but
recognizing Jesus as the Messiah and Lord. I'm most
comfortable by thinking of them as "James Christians", if
any of my readers recall James' church in Jerusalem from
the book of Acts; as a Christian religious branch I think
that ended with the destruction of Jerusalem by the
Romans, but I'd love to have a scholar of the period help
me out. My favorite reading of the period
(from a Jewish point of view) is "As a Driven Leaf", by Milton Steinberg, a history (fictionalized
where facts are unavailable) of Rabbi Elisha ben Abuyah, a member expelled from the
Sanhedrin for (among other things) attending church too
often.
Anyhow, if anyone has an urge to
visit this synagogue at 6320 Quail Hollow Road, Memphis,
TN 38120. (901) 685-9267, services are at 10:30 am
Saturday preceded by adult study at 9 am. They will have a
community Passover Seder on April 3, and their sermons are
online at http://www.brithadasha.org/index.php/resources/sermon-library

Many Masjid
Ar-Rahman events are now on YouTube.
Video recordings of Friday khutbahs (sermons),
other main programs & events at Masjid
Ar-Rahman are now posted and will be uploaded
to Masjid Ar-Rahman YouTube channel on regular
basis inshallah (God willing). To
view/Subscribe, Click here

Another friend writes: Couldn't
stop not to share: 'Like A
Garment' series by by Yasir Qadhi:

another reminder: Kroger Community Rewards: Even if you've
enrolled in Kroger Community Rewards before, their system
resets on January 1, so if you want MIFA or Temple Israel
or Porter-Leath or (many others) to receive credit
when you make purchases at Kroger, you have to enroll
again. Simply visit kroger.com/communityrewards, login or
create an account, and select your rewards
recipient.

March 13 posting:
One event I heard of too
late to get into this list was a March 7 afternoon meeting
- a panel of Muslim Imams speaking on "Virtues of Islam in
a Democracy", with Congressman Steve Cohen turning up to
speak. While I may be a bit ignorant on some details here,
I took it as an interesting bit of "interfaith" that
Anthony Muhammad, the leader of the local Nation of Islam
mosque, was included on the panel and willing to answer my
question on the differences between the Nation of Islam
and the Sunni Muslims. Teh main point was that the Sunni's
feel the coming of the Mahdi is in the future, the Nation
of Islam believe the Mahdi has already come to bring Islam
to America. [corrections invited, by those who know
more than I do].

March 2 posting:

A note from the local Black newspaper, the Tri-State
Defender:TSDTV: Minister
Ishmael Muhammad Part One

While in Memphis Minister Ishmael
Muhammad, son of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and Student
National Assistant Minister to The Honorable Minister Louis
Farrakhan sat down with TSD President and Publisher Bernal Smith
in part one of a four series segment.Click
hereto watch this episode
of TSDTV.

Another online
item of interest:

The themes of Adam Curtis’ new documentary Bitter Lake should
be well known to those familiar with his body of work: power,
techno-politics, science, managerialism and the media. The film uses
the contemporary history of Afghanistan to tell a story about how
polities in the West have become incapable of understanding the
complex and horrible happenings around them. Traditional forms of
power in the West and Afghanistan have taken advantage of the fear
and confusion to consolidate their control, but at the expense of an
intellectually deskilled Western public and a world that is
fundamentally less governable. Bitter Lake is more fable
than scholarship, but the film is nonetheless a devastating
examination of how Western interventions in Afghanistan refract the
vacuousness of our own politics.Jacob Mundy reviews the documentary
in "McJihad,
the Film," now at Middle East Report Online

Posted Feb 18.
A member of the Texas legislature, on a day when local
Muslims were coming to lobby, left her office and
instructed her staff to greet Muslim visitors with and
Israeli flag and a demand that they pledge allegiance to
the United States. The (Jewish) Anti-Defamation League has
issued a statement saying it was "shocked and outraged" by
this, It said in part "access to elected officials is core
to American democracy and should be celebrated, not
impeded....this kind of rhetoric and bigotry is
antithetical to our cherished American values." http://www.jta.org/2015/01/30/news-opinion/politics/auto-draft-47

Posted Feb 22

The Benjamin Hooks Institute has put on-line a new
16-minute film, "The Civil Rights Movement: A Cultural
Revolution." It is part of "The People's Telly
Awards" competition, so you can evaluate the film and vote
(until March 6) as well as watch it, at http://www.tellyawards.com/peoplestelly/?cid=377&id=19828

Posted Feb 17:

March 2 order deadline for March 16 event at Grizzlies
game. See March 16 below.

(NASHVILLE, TN) Feb. 12, 2015 The
American Center for Outreach & the American
Muslim Advisory Council released a sign-on statement
against targeting people for their identity.
The statement reads:We offer our condolences, thoughts and prayers to the
victims of the Chapel Hill shooting which claimed the lives of
three Muslim students. (..much more)Congregations
and religious organizations can join this effort by
signing up at www.acotn.org or emailing a
request to info@acotn.org.
(Signed by Temple Israel, Memphis Islamic Center,
Memphis Inter-Religious Group, many others.)

Prof. Shaul Bar is the author of a recently published
book, "Daily Life of the Patriarchs, The Way It Was."

Travel possibility: Professors Stephen Haynes
and Jonathan Judaken of Rhodes College and Prof Daniel
Unofsky of the University of Memphis will lead a Holocaust
Travel Seminar May 17-30, open both to college
students and to lifelong learners. Cost estimate $4400.
Numerous places in Germany and Poland, at least.
This will be an exceptional inter-generational experience
with remarkable interfaith leadership.
Register, or at least indicate interest, as soon as
possible (target is Feb 15 for initial information).
Contact Prof Haynes at 901-843-3583 or email haynes@rhodes.edu.

The Movie SELMA is an important piece of American History
and deserves to be seen. If you need further background,
or especially if you are a teacher wanting material about
the period, there is quite a bit of useful material on the
website of the nationally noted "Teaching Tolerance" program,
at http://www.tolerance.org/voting-rights-web-package
This website has a number of important teaching packages
(including videos) which are free for teachers, and are
also often extremely valuable for Sunday School and Adult
Education programs. (MIRG has an example or two on hand if
you'd like to look.)

Obviously, the trauma facing the Jewish Community in
France following the events related to the "Charlie
Hebdo" attack are in many ways mild compared toi the
traumas of Syria, Lebanon, Afghanistan, and so on. But I
thought people might be interested in some of the ways
responses in France are being organized. There is an
interesting report circulated through the Memphis Jewish
Community Center, on line at https://files.ctctcdn.com/7c3c2e9b001/871c0511-e5df-4fa1-990e-054b5e973e99.pdf

Lichterman Nature Center is normally closed
Sundays. It is inviting churches in need of a place to
meet on Sundays to arrange to use its facilities,
Indoor spaces available in sizes 50 to 200, outdoor spaces
also. Parking, kitchen, etc.
"For more
information, call 901.636.2213
or visit our website: www.memphismuseums.org"

A midtown Jewish group
is starting a variety of activities - e.g. a children's
Hebrew School in the Central Gardens area Monday
afternoons, a monthly family program on first Sunday
afternoons, possibly a youth group and other
activities. If interested contact Sarah at newstok@mac.com

Yasir Qadhi has completed his "Life of
the Prophet" series of lectures at the Memphis Islamic Center,
Wednesday evenings. I haven't hear what comes next from this
outstanding speaker. For anyone who has never listened to him
preach to Muslims, an excellent place to start (an exposition
of the Muslim equivalent of Christian parables) is at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMPyCujPl_g

Marcus Borg died January 21, 2015. He preached in the Lenten
Lecture series at Calvary Episcopal Church in downtown Memphis
for twenty years, and several of his sermons there in recent
years are avail;able through their website.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Borg
An interesting introduction to his mode of Biblical
interpretation is available in a YouTube of a debate with the
much more traditional William Lane Craig at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OU1h0tk2Pss

Edward Ordman was delighted to give a talk on the Intertestamental
Period recently to the Presbyterian Women at Germantown Presbyterian
Church. What happened between the Old and New Testaments? (For some
reason, this is rarely addressed in Sunday Schools.) What
happened between Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar? (Roughly the
same period, equally rarely addressed in history courses.) What were
the Roman soldiers doing at the Temple in Jesus' time, and why were
the priests in cahoots with them? (Other topics Edward
and Eunice like to speak on are the state of Interfaith life in
Memphis, and the Israel/Palestine problem. We can also help arrange
speakers or visitors to classes on other subjects.)

December 2014

Christmas and Chanukah. I often get asked if
there is any connection between the Christian Christmas (always
December 25) and the Jewish festival of Chanukah (lunar calendar,
this year starts the evening of Dec 16 and runs for 8 nights and
days.) Basically, none. Chanukah is a minor Jewish holiday
that gains importance in the US and other Christian countries in
pert from its proximity to Christmas. The origin of Chanukah
is a revolt by the Jews against a Greek king ruling Syria, roughly
from 167 to 160 before the common era; details are primarily in the
Books of the Maccabees, which are in the so-called "Old Testament
Apocrypha, which are part of the Roman Catholic Bible but not in
Protestant or Jewish Bibles. The candles lit on the 8 nights
are in honor of a story that after the rebels (The Maccabees - the
word means "Hammers") recaptured the Temple in Jerusalem, a
container of oil that should have lasted only one day kept the lamp
burning for eight days until new oil could be obtained. The anceint
rabbi presumably preferred teaching children by talking about this
relatively minor "miracle" to haviung the holiday introduced as one
celebrating a rather bloody military victory. My own father
did use the holiday, as we kids got older, to talk about the
problems of guerilla warfare and the moral problems associated with
war. I have more of his version of the story at http://ordman.net/Edward/Chanukah.htmlwith a link there to somewhat more details and dates. I
occasionally get invitations h=this time of year to speak to Sunday
School classes or other organizations about the Intertestamental
period (I have one invitation so far this year): What happened
between the end of the "Old Testament" and the start of the New
Testament? What happened between Alexander the Great and
Julius Caesar? (These are roughly the same period, but the first is
neglected in Sunday School and the second is neglected in
regular school). This involves Chanukah and goes on to
consider what the Roman soldiers were doing in Jerusalem at the time
of Jesus, and why the Temple Priests were in cahoots with them.
(Hint: Antony and Cleopatra get into the story.)

I've occasionally had people ask about prayer schedules at a mosque
- usually in the sense of "is the schedule anything like a
church?". The big service (with the long sermon) is at Friday,
usually around 1 PM. Here is a recent monthly schedule
(December 2014) from Masjid Ar_Rahman:

Iqama
Times: (December 2014)The five daily prayers, usually
brief and with modest attendance, are

Fajr: 6:00AM

Dhuhur: 12:30PM

As'r: 3:00PM

Maghrib: 10min after Adhan
(in this context Adhan=the call to prayer at sunset, sunset
is about 4:40 this month in Memphis)

On November 9 there was a rather remarkable
interfaith "Peace" Service organized at the Unity Church of
Practical Christianity, 9228 Walnut Grove Road, Cordova, also
sponsored by the Sri Viswayoga Foundation. While it is not
that unusual for Jews and mainstream Christians to have interfaith
events (there will be a nice Thanksgiving Service in a couple of
weeks) and Muslims often join in, the variety of faiths represented
November 9th this year may even have exceeded that at the Sri
Viswayoga event a year ago. It is probably unfair to group as
examples the Jains, Mormons, Bahi'as, and Sikhs, but there were too
many others for my note-taking to keep up. Anyhow, I enjoyed
the discussions immensely! And many thanks to the
several people who helped push and pull my wife's wheelchair on that
hilly trail through the woods!
The event included a group walk through a
particularly nice outdoor labyrinth in a clearing in the woods
behind the church. It is one of the nicer labyrinths in
Memphis and I strongly encourage you to visit it if you have
not. For those unfamiliar, let me distinguish a labyrinth from
a maze: a garden maze (or a hedge maze or cornfield maze or
amusement park maze) is a path with many branches and dead ends, a
sort of a puzzle to get through, often with visual barriers so you
cannot see the end. A labyrinth, in the sense used in houses
of worship, is a winding path without branches, so that if you
follow it all the way - often around many loops - you always arrive
at the end or center, and usually there are no walls to conceal what
is going on. They are very popular with children: I've spent
happy times with grandchildren and nephews and nieces at labyrinths
in children's parks. In churches and monasteries, they are
used for meditative walks or praying while walking; they may give a
sense of "moving to the center" or simply a form of gentle exercise
while praying. I have Jewish friends who are in the habit of reading
the whole book of Psalms every month, five a day - some of the
psalms are quite long and walking while reading them can be more
comfortable than sitting or standing still, when you have available
a nice walking route without danger of bumping into anyone. While
I'm not a scholar of these things, maze walking while praying
seems to me one of the nearest things in Christian practice to some
eastern practices such as some yoga or sufi contemplative customs.

October 2014

October 24 is the New Year on the
Muslim Calendar, the year 1436. If I understand Yasir Qadhi's
explanation correctly, a committee meeting about 17 years after
Mohammed's flight from Mecca to Medina decided the new Muslim state
needed a calendar for administrative reasons, and set the year 1 as
the year of Mohammed's move. The set the start of the year as
the first new moon following the end of the annual pilgrimage to
Mecca since the pilgrimage was viewed as giving people a sort of
"new start." I know at least one person on the MIRG e-mail
list who just returned from the Hajj - is there anyone else this
year?
The Muslim calendar, like the Jewish, is
lunar. But the Qur'an dictates a twelve-month year - so the year
winds up being about 10 or 11 days shorter than the solar year, and
the holidays migrate from one season to another at the rate of about
one month every three years. Every holiday eventually gets a chance
to be in every season. The Jewish calendar differs from this by
having a thirteenth month whenever needed to move the holidays back
to the "right" season (seven times every nineteen years.) The
Christian calendar solves the problem by making the months a day or
two longer than a lunar month, so holidays stay in the same season
but you no longer know the phase of the moon by which day of the
month it is.

This month (and given the operation of
lunar calendars, posssibly for another couple of years) the Jewish
month of Tishri and the Muslim month of Dhul Hijaah coincide -
bringing together principal holidays of both faiths. Yom
Kippur, the Jewish "day of Atonement", a fast day for repentance for
sins, is October 4. And Eid Ul-Adha, the great Muslim holiday, is
also October 4. Both religions attach special values to prayers and
have special prayer customs for the ten days leading up to the
holiday. Expect major parking problems around the synagogues on the
evening of October 3 until after sunset October 4. The
mosques recognize that they can't fit in everyone who wants to come
the morning of October 4, and will have a major service in the
southwest hall of the Memphis Cook Convention Center (9:30
AM). They will also have an Eid carnival Sunday Oct 5, 11 AM -
5 PM at Incredible Pizza in Germantown.
Actually, the theological connections are
much closer between Rosh Hashanah (Sept 24-25) and Eid Ul_Adha. The
principal reading from the Jewish Bible for Rosh Hashanah is the
willingness of Abraham to offer his son (Isaac) as a
sacrifice. The principal Qur'an reading for Eid Ul-Adha is the
willingness of Abraham to offer his son (Ishmael) as a sacrifice.
Rabbi Arthur Waskow adds: And
even more! October 4 is for Catholics and many other
Christians the day for remembering and honoring St. Francis of
Assisi. The present Pope chose to affirm Francis not only in
naming himself but in living simply and preaching
compassionately. St. Francis went to Cairo to study with
Muslims how they prayed, in order to deepen his own prayer. He
committed a holy act of both heresy and treason by opposing the
Crusades. And he was deeply in touch with the more-than-human life
of all the Earth.

September 2014

After a long search, Masjid Ar-Rahman has appointed a new Imam,
Anwar Arafat. We expect that he will be a meaningful addition
to the group of clergy of all faiths in the city. He will
preside at the city-wide Eid Ul_Adha prayers October 4.

Memphis has a number of new Halal restaurants (Muslim equivalent of
kosher.)
Tannoor Grill is located on 830 N. Germantown Pkwy Cordova, TN 38018
901-443-5222.
Barakat Middle Eastern Restaurant is located at 5800 Raleigh
Lagrange Rd Bartlett, TN 901-674-1666
Sharks Fish & Chicken has three locations in the Memphis area -
Midtown, Hickory Hill and Summer Avenue.www.sharksmemphis.com
The Burger Joint is located at 5844 Poplar Ave Memphis, TN
38119.901-537-3533.
(I think this means we now have more Halal restaurants than Kosher
restaurants. Of course the Halal rules are somewhat simpler.)
Ramadan begins about June 28 this year, 2014 (can vary a bit based
on moon sighting.)

May and early June 2014

June 5. The Washington Post has an article and map showing the
second largest religion (after Christianity) in each state. It is
probably not a surprise that it is Buddhism in most Western
states, Judaism in the Northeast, Islam in twenty of the southern
and middle states. But it is of interest that Hinduism is the
second largest in two states, and Baha'i in one state. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/06/04/the-second-largest-religion-in-each-state/?hpid=z5
I was surprised that Judaism
came in second in Tennessee and (even more unexpectedly, for me)
in Arkansas.

MIFA wants participants and volunteers for the COOL (College Offers
Opportunities for Life) program. Kids are to be from the 38126 zip
code and/or attend Carver or Booker T. Washington high schools, have
at least a 2.0 GPA. Adult mentors who can put in two to five hours a
month are wanted. Details at http://www.mifa.org/cool?utm_source=Memphis%20Inter-Religious%20Group
Temple Israel sisterhood is preparing snacks for the kick-off event
for this, June 11, 5:30. Contact Jane at 901.239.7536.

MidSouth Peace and Justice Center has a new Executive Director, Brad
Watkins, a long-time staff member there.

April 9, 2014. Jerusalem 3D - From April 19 through December
of 2014, the Pink Palace will be showing “Jerusalem 3D” in its
IMAX theater. This is a travelogue about the Old City of
Jerusalem, prepared by the National Geographic, with references to
the ancient history of the city from Christian, Jewish, and Muslim
viewpoints and using narrators of all three faiths. It has
been very well received by local religious leaders of all three
faiths. It does not consider modern problems or controversies, but
does allow you to see the insides of holy places not normally
available to tourists because of the modern problems. I
found the 3D effects attractive even though I have very poor
vision in one eye.
There is a Facebook page at
https://www.facebook.com/jerusalemthemovie
Further information on the Pink Palace including movies and
exhibits is at http://www.memphismuseums.org/
and the movie schedule is at http://www.memphismuseums.org/cti_3d-show_schedule/

April 3, 2014. It is hard not to be concerned about the
refugees in so many places around the world. How long will
the world allow people to be confined in refugee camps? In
some of the Palestinian camps in some of the Arab countries,
refugees have been effectively confined for about 65 years.
They suffer even more when civil wars, as in Syria, effectively
blockade the camps and keep food and medicine from getting in.
And what will happen to the refugees now
streaming out of Syria? There is a rather remarkable article about
Syrian refugees in Lebanon, at http://www.merip.org/mero/mero040314

March 23, 2014. I can't resist commenting on two plays
presently going on in Memphis. The Diary of Anne Frank
at Playhouse on the Square continues until March
30. It is an outstanding production, wonderful set,
excellent acting, and well worth seeing. Do be aware
of what you are getting into: as one friend commented, "it
is a little difficult to watch at times, since you know
the ending." I've also heard it said that the
characters are a bit one-dimensional. Well, yes - and that
is not due to bad acting. The script is from the Diary of
Anne Frank. She was, after all, a twelve-year-old: the
characters are as they were seen by Anne, just the things
she saw and the things she understood. It is, in
addition to being such a classic story, a wonderful study
of "the world as seen by a 12-year-old."
http://playhouseonthesquare.org/
I wonder if anyone
younger than me noticed that the one brief song sung in
the show, in Hebrew, was in the wrong dialect - the one
used in most American Hebrew Schools today, not the one
used in German Hebrew Schools in the 1930.s and 1940's?
(This does not detract in the slightest from the play.)
If Anne Frank, with a cast
of over a dozen, is still a one-viewpoint story,
another interesting and genuinely one-man production in
town is being put on by Rabia Louis Haynes:
If Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Were Alive Today
is a 75-minute show in the gorgeous new theatre at the
Kroc Center (the Salvation Army building at 800 East
Parkway South, south of Central), Friday and Saturday
at 7 PM, Sunday at 2 PM, through April 6. ($20,
$15 students and seniors). This unusual show is
one man's recollections and thoughts about King,
colored by experiences in Vietnam and Birmingham; it
is more about peace and freedom and justice than about
the civil rights struggle itself. Haynes does a
remarkable and moving job of reciting some of King's
famous speeches. He stretches things a bit in the last
scene, when he tries to preach in the way he thinks
King might preach today: he may not be quite the
writer that King was, but it is still interesting and
effective and I found it as interesting to see his
view of the world as it was to see Anne Franks' view,
and a very interesting juxtaposition.

March 16, 2014, was the Jewish (minor)
Holiday of Purim. There were far too many Purim
events to list here; I'm giving a small sample. Purim
is sunset March 15 to sunset March 16, but the celebrations of this
joyous early Spring festival go on for some time before and after.
It is, canonically, an extremely minor Jewish holiday, celebrating
the events of the Book of Esther in the Bible. It is not one
of the more theological, shall we say, of the biblical books. Ian
Fleming pointed out that James Bond was based on Esther, the
principle differences being that the sexy undercover agent in the
Bible is female, that M's full name is given, and that the road
races in the Bible have to be done on fast horses as the
Aston-Martin had not yet been invented. If you'd like a
different look at the Bible, read the Book of Esther thinking
"Goldfinger" rather than "Biblical Epic", or attend Temple Israel's
annual musical comedy version (which is not as risque as
either the Bible or the James Bond movies.)

People who have never
attended a traditional synagogue service on Purim will be amused
to know that any children attending are issued noisemakers to use
during the Bible reading. The Book originally came in a
scroll, in Hebrew a "Megillah", and the fact that the whole book
is traditionally read on the holiday, "The Whole Megillah", has
passed into many languages as an idiom roughly for "reciting the
whole story with nothing left out."

December 12, 2013. Our good friend Tanvir Kazmi has sent
along some quotations from the Qur'an appropriate to the
(Christian) season.

[Al-Imran
3:33] GOD has chosen Adam, Noah, the family of Abraham,
and the family of Imran to the people. They belong in the
same progeny. GOD is Hearer, Omniscient. The wife of Imran
said, "My Lord, I have dedicated (the baby) in my belly to You,
totally, so accept from me. You are Hearer,
Omniscient." When she gave birth to her, she said, "My
Lord, I have given birth to a girl" - GOD was fully aware of
what she bore - "The male is not the same as the female. I have
named her Mary, and I invoke Your protection for her and her
descendants from the rejected devil." Her Lord accepted her
a gracious acceptance, and brought her up a gracious upbringing,
under the guardianship of Zachariah. Whenever Zachariah entered
her sanctuary he found provisions with her. He would ask, "Mary,
where did you get this from?" She would say, "It is from GOD.
GOD provides for whomever He chooses, without limits." That is
when Zachariah implored his Lord: "My Lord, grant me such a good
child; You are the Hearer of the prayers." The angels called him
when he was praying in the
sanctuary: "GOD gives you good news of John (Yahya); a
believer in the
word of GOD, honorable, moral, and a righteous prophet." He
said, "How can I have a boy, when I am so old, and my wife is
sterile?" He said, "GOD does whatever He wills." He said, "My
Lord, give me a sign." He said, "Your sign is that you will not
speak to the people for three days, except through signals.
Commemorate your Lord frequently; and meditate night and day."

[Al-Imran
3:42] The angels said, "O Mary, GOD has chosen you and
purified you. He has chosen you from all the women. "O
Mary, you shall submit to your Lord, and prostrate and bow down
with those who bow down." This is news from the past that
we reveal to you. You were not there when they drew their
raffles to select Mary's guardian. You were not present when
they argued with one another. The angels said, "O Mary, GOD
gives you good news: a Word from Him whose name is `The Messiah,
Jesus the son of Mary. He will be prominent in this life and in
the Hereafter, and one of those closest to Me.' "He will
speak to the people from the crib, as well as an adult; he will
be one of the righteous." She said, "My Lord, how can I
have a son, when no man has touched me?" He said, "GOD thus
creates whatever He wills. To have anything done, He simply says
to it, `Be,' and it is. "He will teach him the scripture,
wisdom, the Torah, and the Gospel." As a messenger to the
Children of Israel: "I come to you with a sign from your Lord -
I create for you from clay the shape of a bird, then I blow into
it, and it becomes a live bird by GOD's permission. I restore
vision to the blind, heal the leprous, and I revive the dead by
GOD's permission. I can tell you what you eat, and what you
store in your homes. This should be a proof for you, if you are
believers. "I confirm previous scripture - the Torah - and
I revoke certain prohibitions imposed upon you. I come to you
with sufficient proof from your Lord. Therefore, you shall
observe GOD, and obey me. "GOD is my Lord and your Lord;
you shall worship Him alone. This is the right path."

December 7, 2013. We are having a spate of bad weather, and
quite a few events cancelled. Yasir Qadhi, the
scholar-in-residence at the Memphis Islamic Center, reports that
in the early days of Islam there were days when the weather was so
bad that Mohammed instructed the muezzin to announce prayer times
with the call "God is Great! Stay home and pray!" instead of
the customary "God is Great! Come to Pray!" (Yasir then went
on to encourage those who could safely walk to mosque to do so, so
that those wanting to pray in a congregation could do so.)

October 8, 2013. It is is a busy season for several faiths
right now. Muslims are in the ten days leading up to Eid El-Adha,
the Festival of the Sacrifice, the most major Muslim holiday. It
commemorates the willingness of the prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) to
sacrifice his young first-born son Ismail (Ishmael) as an act of
submission to God's command and his son's acceptance to being
sacrificed, before God intervened to provide Abraham with a lamb
to sacrifice instead. It begins Monday evening October 14
and ends Tuesday evening October 15. Since crowds at the Tuesday
morning service will far exceed the capacity of local mosques
(including the social halls, which tend to be crowded with
overflow worshipers this week) the main service will be held in
The Cook Convention Center at 9 AM Tuesday. The festival is
on the tenth day of the lunar month of Dhul Hijjah and
during the ten days there is special value to good deeds and
fasting, much as in the ten days leading to Yom Kippur (the day of
atonement) for the Jews or the period of Lent for the Christians.

By a coincidence of calendar, these ten days essentially coincide
with the Hindu occasion of Navaratri and Brahmotsavam
Celebrations, October 4th to 13th, nine nights and ten days.
During the nine nights, nine forms of Shakti/Devi are
worshiped. The tenth day is commonly referred to as Vijayadashami
or "Dussehra." The first word "victory on the tenth" refers to the
tenth day of the lunar month; the second refers to "the removal of
ten", referring to Lord Rama's victory over the ten-headed
demon king Ravana. Unlike the Muslim holiday which migrates
seasonally due to the Muslim lunar year, the Hindu holiday is also
a harvest holiday. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vijayadashami

Porter-Leath reminds me that Kroger now has a system
whereby you can sign-up on-line so that when you shop at
Krogers and use your Kroger Plus card. a small percentage of
your purchase gets donated to an organization you choose. Many
Memphis churches, synagogues, and religious schools are among
the listed organizations (no Muslims, Hindus. Buddhists? I
didn't notice any in the list) or you can have the donation
given to local charities such as Porter-Leath, MIFA, Bridges
(who else should I mention here?). https://customer.kroger.com/communityrewards.aspx

Late May 2013

A surprising number of local groups - Jewish, Christian, and
Muslim - have been holding fundraisers or collecting donations for
the Oklahoma Tornado victims.

This seems a week more crying out for
commentary than for lists of events. The attack
in Boston has led to the usual "why don't the
moderate Muslims speak out?" complaints.
Of course they do speak
out - the press releases from the local Muslim community were immediate - but
the press
loves drama
and excitement and would
much rather talk about
violence than
about solutions.
I occasionally find an
excuse to give a sermon or
talk
quoting
Psalms
137 and 126.
The first
chronologically
(137) is at
the time of
the exile
to Babylon and
one frequently
hears quoted "How
can I sing the
song of the
Lord in a
foreign land"
and "If
I forget thee,
O
Jerusalem..."
but no one
ever quotes
the rest
- it is a
bitter,
vindictive,
song of a
war lost,
ending (translations
vary) "happy will
be he who
dashes the
children of
the
Babylonians
against
the
rocks."
There are
people who
like to quote
unpleasant
verses of the
Qur'an out of
context but
forget that
the Bible has
them too.
The antidote
is Psalm
126,
on the return
from Babylon:
a man may sow
seed while
weeping, but
will return
in joy from
the harvest,
bringing in
his sheaves of
grain.
Tragedy may
lead to
thoughts of
retaliation,
but if one is
thinking of
retaliation
one is not
moving towards
peace.
Individuals,
groups, and
governments,
need to be
thinking of the
future
- what must we
do now, (even
making
sacrifices
like using
something we
could eat now
as seed for
the next crop)
to bring in
the sheaves,
peace and
prosperity, in
the future?

I also heard an excellent sermon
in the Memphis Islamic
Center by its president, Dr.
Bashar Shala, who stressed to his congregation, many of
whom are immigrants, the
importance of teaching their children that they are
Americans, that it is absolutely consistent to be both a loyal American
and an
observant Muslim, that one can and should
work for the welfare of all Americans. It is important
that they teach their children enough
about Islam to avoid the risk that the
children will be tempted by anarchists who misleadingly represent
themselves as pro-Islam, and that they
keep a close eye on their children's internet use
since there is so much false and
misleading information out there.

Changing
the subject,
it is impossible not to remark on the
passing of Maxine Smith, one of
the original leaders of the modern
Civil Rights movement and a towering local figure,
present until recently at so
many local
events. She was
83.

2/12/2013

There was a remarkable talk by the Gary Shorb,
president of Methodist LeBonheur Healthcare, at the Memphis
Theological Seminar dinner on February 21. He pointed
out that the United States spends far more on healthcare than
any other nation on earth and yet on most measures of health
care we are at the very bottom of the list of industrialized
nations. (On many measures we rank lower than, say, Cuba.) He
strongly urged people to write state legislatures urging
Tennessee to accept the proposed US expansion of Medicaid.

I heard a very nice talk recently by Prof. Earnestine
Jenkins at the University of Memphis. Instead of the "melting
pot" or the "salad bowl" model, she spoke of "acculturation" -
the process by which different groups or cultures learn to
accommodate, provide space, learn to live alongside one
another. She stresses that is is a gradual process involving
learning and adjusting on all sides.

1/4/2013
We note with deep distress the death of Harriet
Stern on December 22. She was 79, very active until shortly before
her death, a tireless volunteer for many causes and a strong
supporter of interfaith activities in Memphis.

We had an excellent visit to the Hindu Temple on January 1. I
now have a much better schedule of what is going on there and some
offers to help explain activities there, if anyone needs information
on such things.

12/08/ 2012
Since the newspapers seem so rarely to print statements from
moderates, it was nice to see a recent statement from a member of
the Syrian opposition quoted in the Christian Science Monitor. The
Imam Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib is quoted as saying to a crowd near
Damascus "My brothers, we lived all our lives, Sunnis, Shiites,
Alawites, and Druze, as a one-hearted community. And with us lived
our dear brothers who follow Jesus, peace be upon him. We should
adhere to his bond between us and protect it at all times."http://www.csmonitor.com/

Church Health Center
We recently became aware that the national organization serving
Parish Nurses has merged into Memphis's Church Health
Center. There is some information at http://www.chreader.org/parishnurses.aspx?listWebPage_id=1
For those unacquainted with the concept, some houses of worship have
attached to them a trained person, often a nurse (on salary or
retired and a volunteer) who may assist with hospital visitation and
may be available to answer health questions for members of the
congregation or nearby community. This can be critically
helpful in communities that have considerable numbers of uninsured,
or where there are numerous expectant mothers or preschool children,
where someone who can say "this can wait a few days" or "go see the
doctor today, I'll call and say why it is time-critical" can be a
big help. And while the elderly receive remarkably good
telephone advice from the AARP Nurse (if you don't know about that
program, ask!) , the AARP nurse cannot make house calls and a parish
nurse can. If you can use more information about this program
(which is by no means restricted to Christian groups), contact the
Church Health Center. http://www.churchhealthcenter.org/fcnhome
Their next course for "community health promoters" will be
Tuesday nights, March 5 - April 23, call 901-261-8833
-----
We've been pleased at the very large turnouts at several recent
events. "A Taste of Hunger" on Nov 4 drew a large audience and
provided a guide to many programs in Memphis assisting the hungry -
food banks, soup kitchens, and other programs. If you'd likje
a .pdf of that guidebook, let us know and we'll send one. One
unexpected treat at the dinner, at Anshei Sphard-Beth El Emeth
Synagogue, was an announcement that the local Muslim community was
starting a halal food bank; that is now in operation.

The Nov 14 conference on "how neighborhoods can come together"
sponsored by the Center for Transforming Communities
(http://ctcmidsouth.org ) had a packed house, over 300 participants,
and wonderful ideas for working together. See the blog on
their website for more.

There was also a very full house for the interfaith Thanksgiving
service on Nov 20 at Balmoral Presbyterian Church, with a huge
combined choir and participation by clergy from quite a few churches
and Temple Israel.

It was interesting to see Thanksgiving meals put on by Hindu and
Muslim organizations, as well.

Sept 12: A California real estate developed produced a short
anti-Muslim film. Its circulation was followed by attacks on
Americans in Egypt and Libya, resulting in the death of the American
Ambassador in Libya.

Nihad Awad, national executive director of the Washington-based
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), condemned both the
killings and the film. Awad said in a statement:

“We urge that this ignorant attempt to provoke the religious
feelings of Muslims in the Arabic-speaking world be ignored and that
its extremist producers not be given the cheap publicity they so
desperately seek.

“Those who created this trashy film do not represent the people of
America or the Christian faith. The only proper response to
intentional provocations such as this film is to redouble efforts to
promote mutual understanding between faiths and to marginalize
extremists of all stripes.”Sept 4:
Are you familiar with "The Mindset List", a review of what is
"normal" for American college freshmen?http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/2016/
(Yes, you can enter earlier years to compare!)

We note the arrival in Memphis of Prof. Mark Kaplowitz, who is David
Bornblum Visiting Scholar at the University of Memphis. Dr.
Kaplowitz is an authority on the philosophy of Spinoza and
commentators on Spinoza such as the German philosopher Hermann
Cohen. He has also studied such writers and philosophers as
Maimonides, Kant, Franz Rosenzweig. I hope the general
community will get chances to hear from him!

In a somewhat bizarre situation, the Florida prison system has
decided to save money by no longer serving kosher meals to inmates
who request them. The U.S. Department of Justice has sued Florida
saying this is unfair. (Apparently about 250 inmates typically
requested kosher food.) What makes this of interfaith interest
is the fact that kosher food is also halal, that is, it meets the
dietary restrictions of Muslim as well as Jewish observers of
religious practices. So the US suit is receiving support from
both Muslim and Jewish groups. People may be interested to
know that the rules are not identical - a Muslim friend said to me
"The Muslims are not allowed to drink alcohol, the Jews are not
allowed to eat shellfish - I'm not sure which of us is getting the
better deal."

July 2012:Somehow I missed advance notice for the
PBS program Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World but it
may be of interest that 15 minutes of "bonus footage", just video,
of the material is on-line at http://video.pbs.org/video/2251483761
If there is someone out there better at watching for upcoming
programs, or finding on-line versions of them than I am, I'd love
help. I was fascinated to discover an eight minute clip about the
Jewish Ghetto in Shanghai during the Second World War, as I had good
friends who spent the war in the Ghetto in Shanghai. http://video.pbs.org/video/2224183518
Shanghai was possibly the last place in the world that would admit
Jews without a visa, if they could find a way to get there from
Europe.

May 2012:
5/18 Last night was the Annual awards dinner by Diversity
Memphis. Two of the honorees were people we have worked actively
with, Dr. Manoj Jain and David Waters. Others who spoke
whom we have worked with or talked about here in the past include
Rabbi Micah Greenstein of Temple Israel and Father Nicholas Vieron
of Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, whose talks at Calvary last
Lent are still available to listen to, Dr. Bashar Shala of the
Memphis Islamic Center and Memphis Friendship Foundation, and
mediator Jocie Wurzburg. Eunice and I got to sit with (among others)
Janice Vanderhaar and Ed Wallin.

We were sorry to learn of a death a few days ago. Janice
Vanderhaar sent this message:
----

Dr. Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz, a
true prophetic woman of peace, passed on to eternal
life on Sunday, May 13.

Please read the moving message
below sent to me earlier today by a close friend of Ada
Maria's.

It is hard to believe
that Dr. Ada Maria passed this way less than two
months ago to share with us her incredible message of
Compassion and Solidarity at the Vanderhaar Symposium on March
15 in Memphis.

We sent the remarkable pictures
taken that evening to her family. They capture her
essence beautifully. Please scroll down the email to see
photos.

We were indeed blessed by her
powerful presence in our midst.

We send our prayers of deep
sympathy to her beloved mother and all her
deeply-grieving family.

May she rest in Eternal Love
and Peace! Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz Presente!

----
Let us (or Janice) know if you want the photos.

May 22:
MEDICAL NOTE: The Interfaith Medical discussion at Masjid As-Salaam
last Sunday was excellent, and I'm particularly proud since it very
clearly was enhanced by the presence of people who came and
participated because of this mailing list. Hey, we can make a
difference on the obesity issue. Consider suggesting to your house
of worship that they experiment with not putting out donuts at
coffee hour and instead put out small tomatoes, carrot and celery
sticks, grapes, if you want to get fancy you can add pineapple and
watermelon chunks. You may be able to link up with others
through http://www.healthymemphis.org/

Pentecost and Mi'raj
Today (the 21st or
22nd of May this year) is the new moon, when the Hebrew and Muslim
calendars start new months. For the Jews it is Sivan, for the
Muslims it is Rajab. This year (as in about one in four) the
Jewish and Christian calendars are in pretty good synchronization,
so the holiday of Pentecost (seven weeks, or 50 days, from
Easter), when the Holy Spirit enable the apostles to "speak in
tongues", comes on Sunday, May 27. The Jewish holiday of
Shavuot, "the feast of weeks", seven weeks from Passover, and also
referred to as Pentecost, starts the evening of May 26; it ends the
evening of May 27 for Reform Jews and the evening of the 28th for
Orthodox and Conservative Jews. For Jews it celebrates the
giving of the law on Mt. Sinai; the ten commandments are read,
and parties with ice cream (that is, dairy rather than meat dishes)
are common.
In English this is
the only holiday for which Jews and Christians can use the same word
(Pentecost), although in some other languages Easter and Passover
have the same name (e.g. French "Pâques", derived from the Hebrew
"Pesach"). Apparently the choice of a different calendar
calculation, so that they do not always coincide on date, was a
decision of the Roman Emperor Constantine who wanted to clarify that
Judaism and Christianity were separate religions.
For Muslims the month is
Rajab, and the date I know of in it with the most interest is
Mi'raj, the 27th of Rajab, about June 18, which is the anniversary
of the night when Mohammed was transported to Jerusalem and
ascended from there for a visit in heaven. While I gather some
Muslim communities have customs associated with this, it is not an
official holiday. The explanation I have read is that Mohammed
did not encourage any celebration of "past events", only celebration
of "what is happening now". The two principal Muslim feast days are
Eid El-Fitr, the "completion" or end of the fasting month of
Ramadan, and Eid El-Adha which celebrates the pilgrimage to
Mecca but also (presumably not coincidentally) remembers the
willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son. This latter event is
very frequently spoken of by the Jews (e.g. the talk just mentioned
at Temple Israel last week) but oddly the Jews don't have a
particular day to celebrate it.

May 29: I
ran into or recalled some remarkable phrases this week.
On Saturday at Temple
Israel, we were studying some early statements by meetings
of American Rabbis. The Pittsburgh Platform of 1885 (this
was before Rabbis organized themselves into
Orthodox/Conservative/Reform groups, although most of the
signers were the "liberals") included the sentences "We are
convinced of the utmost necessity of preserving the historical
identity with our great past. Christianity and Islam being
daughter religions of Judaism, we appreciate their providential
mission, to aid in the spreading of monotheistic and moral
truth."
The Pentecost story in most
churches talks of the need to talk to people "in their own
language." I found myself recalling a January 2008 conference at
Trinity Church, New York, which I watched by video in the
company of Dr. M. Moinuddin. The participants included the
U.S. Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, and
the Muslim Oxford Professor Tariq Ramadan. In the
discussion afterwards, someone asked them (I haven't looked up
the quotes, I'm giving you how I recall them) "How is it
possible for you two to agree on so much?".
Jefferts Schori replied, in
part, "God has given us the gift of continuing revelation."
Prof. Ramadan jumped up
almost indignantly. "Absolutely not. I disagree completely.
Revelation stopped with Mohammed. Allah has given us the gift of
continuing interpretation."
----
I had a story appear in The
Commercial Appeal on Saturday, May 26, on an interesting
intersection of Memphis-In-May with interfaith relations.
David Waters and Connie Binkowitz (featured in the article)
helped significantly.
The link is http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/may/26/guest-commentary-journey-of-belief-came-full-for/Connie Binkowitz is
with Health Memphis/Common Table. http://healthymemphis.org/

April 2012:

4/23 There is a group in Damascus, Syria, working with Iraqi
refugees. One thing they do is try to arrange college in the US for
a few outstanding Iraqi refugee students. At the present time
they have a candidate, a son of a physician working in a
tuberculosis clinic in Baghdad whose family fled to Damascus after
violence in their neighborhood at home. Christian Brothers
University apparently will waive tuition if they can find pledges of
support for room, board, incidentals. They have pledges of over half
the funds needed so far. The interfaith aspect here of course is
CBU's willingness to do this for a Muslim student; David Waters has
indicated an interest in writing about the project. More info at
http://memphisiraqistudentproject.weebly.com/about-isp.html
I'll provide the local contact information for anyone interested.
(I'm at admin@memphisirg.org or 327-9735)

4/23 Memphis Islamic Center's Resident
Scholar, Yasir Qadhi, was featured on PBS special program
"Finding Your Roots" alongside Pastor Rick Warren and Rabbi
Angela Buchdahl.It's a nice
interfaith program. The program aired on PBS, or WKNO in Memphis,
on Sunday, April 15, 2012. However, the show is also
available online at PBS' website at the following link:http://www.pbs.org/wnet/finding-your-roots/video/
Update: This link takes you to the most recent episode of this
show, but you can scroll down and click on the episode "Rick
Warren, Angela Buchdahl, and Yasir Qadhi". They have another Yasir
Qadhi episode, "The growth of Islam in America." (We can possibly provide off-line
copies if needed.)

4/8 We aren't recruiting volunteers here, that happened elsewhere,
but it's always fun to notice that on Easter, Temple Israel recruits
volunteers to serve at the Soup Kitchen at First Presbyterian Church
downtown, so that the usual Christian volunteers get the day with
their families. Many of the chartities and activities in town
are also manned by the Jews at Christmas.

4/7 Note that Edward Ordman's essay about interfaith activist
Stanley Engelberg appeared in the Commercial Appeal on April 7,
2012. http://ordman.net/Edward/Engelberg.html
"Helping Others was Stan's Life Mission"

March 2012:

3/31: The inaugural concert of the Balmoral Chamber
Orchestar was a major success. We hope to see a lot more of
them.

3/30: The big news among our friends recently was the death
of Stanley Engelberg on March 21. I hope that an essay about him
will appear in the On Faith page of the Commercial Appeal,
probably April 7. Non-Jews will be
amused to note that it wasn't until I was at least in high
school, maybe later, that I realized that "Spring Cleaning" did
not have a specific date on the national or Christian
calendars. For the Jews it does: the day before Passover.
The calendar put out by the local Hasidic Jewish group (Chabad)
admonishes that in Memphis this must be completed by 11:49 am on
Friday, April 6. This is derived, from centuries of
discussion, from the biblical admonition that "you shall have no
leaven throughout your habitations", hence all the corners of
the house have to be cleaned to get rid of any breadcrumbs that
may have accumulated. There are accompanying prayers and
rituals. I was really quite startled when I discovered
that the "spring cleaning" of the popular press was not this
ritualized or specific.
My events listings
for the next week or so won't be as elaborate as recently,
partly since the events of "Holy Week", Easter, and Passover,
tend to be more specific to the specific religions and less
inter-faith oriented. The number of joint programs
involving multiple churches is simply too long to list.
All the synagogues will have special prayers and some other
programs on at least April 6-7-8 for Passover. So I'll include
mainly a few concerts and other things that appeal to me.

3/19: In an e-mail I sent, I evidently was wrong about the
reason that the lecture on March 15 by Dr. Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz
was moved from Christian Brothers University (which is normally
very supportive of peace-related and interfaith-related
events) to First Congregational Church (which is even more
so.) Apparently the trigger issue was not her support of
the ordination of women, but her preaching at the same-sex
wedding ceremony of her nephew. The Commercial Appeal
write-up of this is at
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/mar/02/seminar-speaker-canceled-by-02/
\
The very brief wedding sermon in question is linked to from her
home page at http://users.drew.edu/aisasidi/
where you'll also find copies of some of her more substantive
talks, if you either miised her talk on March 15 or (like me)
heard it and would like more.

3/16: I have to note as of special interest the 2012 issue
of the magazine of the American University in Beirut, Main Gate, which can be
downloaded at
http://staff.aub.edu.lb/~webmgate/MainGate-Winter2012.pdf
(a big pdf, takes awhile to download.) There are excellent
pieces such as "The Citizen and History Return to the Arab
World", p. 28 and several others.
We also have a paper copy if you'd prefer to borrow that.

3/2: I note with mild distress that man of
the Calvary Lenten lectures from earlier years no longer seem to be
on the Calvary or iTunes websites (or maybe they are just hard to
find.) I have saved a great many of the 2008 and 2010
lectures, and a selection of the 2009 lectures. Let me know if you
would like any.

January 2012: We had a good meeting on January 27. One
interesting feature is that we are now feeling confident enough with
each other to start telling some of our groups' interior stories and
conflicts, beginning to learn e.g. of similarities between the
differences of opinion within the Muslim community to those within
the Jewish community. We had especially good turnouts from
Balmoral Presbyterian Church and from Pax Christi, the Roman
Catholic Peace group.

There is a nice sequence of videos by Rabbis for Human Rights -
North America, of individual rabbis speaking out against
Islamophobia.
It can be found at http://www.youtube.com/rhrna
The main web page for Rabbis for Human Rights / North America
is at http://www.rhr-na.org/

My own comment, which I don't think anyone in the press
reported, was that it was 100 years ago this month (December 1911)
that my own grandfather, then a young Orthodox Jewish Rabbi, arrived
in the US from Lithuania. He spoke no English. Five years later he
was the founding Rabbi of a small synagogue in Peabody,
Massachusetts, which is still there. 100 years ago many people
still doubted that Jews could fit in as "normal" Americans (or, in
Western Europe, as Europeans). About twenty years after that
some politicians discovered that they could get donations and
followers by preaching hatred of the Jews. The consequences of this,
for the entire world, were rather traumatic. I don't think I need to
say more.

December 2011:

Chanukah is a rather minor Jewish holiday -it doesn't make the Bible
- and its contemporary importance probably stems from its proximity
to Christmas. But there is a connection between the two. When
the Maccabees revolted against King Antiochus Epiphenes, the
descendent of one of Alexander the Great's generals then ruling the
area, it was a rather bloody and nasty revolt. (Think terrorists. In
my younger years my father compared the Maccabees to the Viet
Cong.) The war is recounted in the books of the Maccabees (Old
Testament Apocrypha). Even in those days, you couldn't run a
good guerrilla war without foreign aid, and the Maccabees signed a
mutual defense treaty with the Senate of the Republic of Rome; it is
reprinted in Chapter 8, First Book of Maccabees. It was
eventually under color of that treaty that Roman troops came to
Israel, and that in turn led to the presence of Roman soldiers (and
a priestly class allied to them) in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus.
I have this story in slightly more detail at http://ordman.net/Edward/Chanukah.html

Interestingly, the best Advent sermon I ever heard I heard at Masjid
As-Salaam, the mosque on Stratford Road. A visiting preacher, a few
Decembers ago, preached on the birth of John the Baptist (who gets
even more praise in the Koran than he does in the New Testament.) He
commented - wouldn't all of you like your children to be as
self-confident, as knowledgeable, as kind to their parents, as
faithful to God, as John the Baptist? Well, then take a
serious interest in your children's education. (Long riff on
education.) And remember that John, like Jesus, was a very
successful preacher of the story of the One God. In fact, John
was remarkably good at it - after all, he was the one who had to
baptize Jesus, not the other way around. So when your kids are being
overwhelmed by toy advertisements and multiple Santa Claus-es, be
prepared to sit down and talk about John and Jesus, those wonderful
preachers of God, because the whole season is really about God.

October 2011:

It was hard not to be excited by the program October 4 at the Church
of the Holy Communion, where a panel of Muslim speakers answere
questions for a very eclectic audience, the session chaired by David
Waters. A very good turnout by the Muslim community allowed ample
opportunity for people to mix and talkj in the social hour
following. Thanks, all! This was an event sponsored in part by
"Faith in Memphis", http://faithinmemphis.com , the
continually improving "religion" online presence of the Commercial
Appeal. Thanks, David Waters!

October 2 was an interesting evening at Temple Israel - a live from
New York video of Alan Dershowitz being iunterviewed by
Eliot Spitzer. No one may heve been surprised by Dershowitz's
support for a two-state solution in Israel / Palestine, but I was
interested in the delicacy with which he atttempted to distinguish
between the desires of the Israeli public, Primne Minister
Netanyahu, and the actual behavior of the rather unwieldy Israeli
coalition government.

Sept 2011 Notes:

09/30 There is a new flood in Pakistan.
Collections for emergency relief are being made at all
Memphis mosques.
Also, Muslim Social Services is opening a new second-hand shop
on Mendenhall north of Summer Ave.

09/24 Congratulations on the recent Peace and Harmony Days
where so many of our friends spoke and attended (speakers
included Cantor John Kaplan of Temple Israel, Nabil Bayakly of
Muslims in Memphis, Janice Vanderhaar of Pax Christi, as well as
Hindu, Buddhist, and American Indian speakers...)

09/20 In the recent Kosher Barbeque Contest at the
orthodox Jewish synagogue Anshei Sfard-Beth El Emeth, the team
from the Memphis Islamic Center placed third in Kosher barbequed
beef brisket! Perhaps more important, this got a very nice
writeup by the national Jewish Press agency! The article
is at http://www.jta.org/news/article/2011/09/20/3089486/kosher-bbq-competition-spreading-among-jews-and-some-muslims-too
It was nice to have a dignificant number of Muslims visible and
well accepted at this event. Once again, Memphis is helping show
the rest of the country (and even the rest of the world) that
people CAN enjoy being together and doing things together.

09/14 The Fares Center at Tufts University,
http://farescenter.tufts.edu , has a great many good lectures on the
Middle East available on line.
e.g. Michele Dunne: Egypt: From Evolution to Revolution
(April 13, 2011)Salim Tamari: What Future for Jerusalem? (April 4, 2011)Rami Khouri and Mohammed Younis: What they fear, what they
seek: Understanding young Arabs who are reshaping their societies
(February 22, 2011)
with many more upcoming.

June 11, 2011: It was very nice to see a an
essay by Janice Vanderhaar in the Sunday Commercial Appeal "Souls,
spirits in rhythm are essence of our community", at http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2011/jun/11/guest-commentary-souls-spirits-in-rhythm-are-of/
Janice is of course chair of the
Vanderhaar Symposium which honors her late husband, as well as a
spokesman for the Catholic group Pax Christi and a past recipient
of a major interfaith award from Muslims in Memphis.
And in the essay she quotes Arnold Perl as chairman of the
Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority but doesn't mention that
he's also a recent past president of Temple Israel.

My wife Eunice and I had another
chance to appreciate the interfaith richness of our city recently
when on May 23 she was diagnosed with an Aorta Dissection, a major
tear in the inner lining of the aorta which is frequently
fatal. She received wonderful treatment at Germantown
Methodist Hospital and is recovering well. I couldn't help but
notice that the initial diagnosis was by the gastroenterologist
Dr. Gary Wruble, who just may be the only gastroenterologist in
the city ever to have been a student at a Torah College (loosely,
Jewish Bible) in Jerusalem, and that her Cardiologist Dr. Bashar
Shala is President of the Memphis Islamic Center and during
Eunice's hospital stay was honored at a Diversity Memphis dinner,
along with the pastor of Heartsong Church and several
others. For those who like such things, the before-and-after
pictures of the stent placement in the artery to get blood to her
digestive tract is at http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150262441931187&set=a.424787671186.214150.548161186&type=1&theater
She's getting out of the house a little now, but still enjoys
phone calls at 327-9735.

During several days in the
emergency room and intensive care, I managed to drop and break a
computer, so my e-mail list has been restored from a backup a few
months old. Any help people can give me in getting others on
this list is appreciated. Please forward this e-mail to a few
friends you think ought to be on the list, and e-mail me if you
need to be removed from the list or get a forwarded (not original)
copy and need to be added. Email admin@memphisirg.orgJune 2, 2011:
Our openhouse 5/22 was very nice and veryinteresting and
productive - Jewish, Christian, Sunni, Shia, MIFA representation.
Unfortunately, the next day Eunice Ordman had to enter Methodist
Hospiatl Germantown, with serious problems. By now she is stable
enough that we hope to be home in a few more days. Details at http://ordman.net/Eunice_sick.htmlSo updating the website and getting out e-mails
has been postponed for awhile. I hope to be active again
next week.

We continue to accumulate some intersting DVDs, CDs,
etc. As some of you know, the Ordmans audit a lot of courses
at the University oif Memphis and can recommend interesting ones
(this is free if you are over 60). We also occasionally find
time to look at the free courses some universities offer on the
internet or at coures from "The Great Courses", a/k/a "The Teach
Company". We have quite a few on hand we can lend, or if
people are interested it might be fun to assemble a small goup to
meet every week or two to watch and discuss one together (perhaps in
the Fall?). Three recent acquisitions -

DVD, Beginnings of Judaism, 24 lectures (most of these courses
are half-hour leactures), by Prof Isaiah Gafney, Hebrew University

Oh, my! I've talked of Memphis being an exciting place, but the
more I learn the harder it is to keep up. On Wednesday
March 16 I want to be in three places at once. David Waters, the
religion specialist at the Commercial Appeal, is speaking at
Balmoral Presbyterian Church on "Tough Issues in Memphis".
Patrick Gray, a Religious Studies professor at Rhodes College, will
be speaking at Beth Shalom Synagogue on "Tikkun Olam and the New
Testament." This is part of Beth Shalom's Interfaith series:
"Tikkun Olam" is Hebrew for "repairing the world." And
on the U of Memphis Campus there will be a free showing of "A
Prince Among Slaves," a movie about the life of a very
literate West African Muslim prince who was captured and wound up
spending most of his life as a slave in the US. With
events under Muslim, Jewish, and Christian auspices the same night,
it may be hard for any of them to get the large and interfaith
attendance all three events deserve. I remind everyone:
the best way to get interfaith discussions going is to go listen to
the other guy first, at his place.

While Memphis seems sometimes like a showplace for mutual
recognition and respect, the rhetoric in the rest of
the state and nation is not very good right now. Congressional
hearings are being held by a congressman, Peter King, who seems to
feel that we have too many mosques and 85% of the mosques are run by
terrorists. The speeches are awful, the reminders of Joe McCarthy
(and of anti-Jewish investigations in Europe a few generations ago)
are great. And the Tennessee House and Senate have had bills
introduced to prohibit practicing or advocating Sharia. I'm
not clear exactly how far those bills go: I take it they would
prohibit washing ones hands before eating (a great deal of the
Sharia is about personal hygiene) and probably would prohibit
saying that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary (since that is in the
Koran). The Tennessee bills are patently unconstitutional, but the
debates are clearly designed to promote hatred. I strongly
urge people to write their legislators (state and federal) pointing
out the absurdity of the proposed laws and hearings. Find
Eunice Ordman's suggestions on letter writing and
congressional/senate contact info at http://ordman.net/Eunice/Political_Letter_Writing.html.
E-mail addresses of your state legislators are not on that page but
are easy to find by putting in your 9-digit zip code at http://withstringsattached.org/legislative-lookup/

David Waters has pointed out to me that the Commercial Appeal has an
on-line listing of houses of worship, at
http://faithworksmemphis.com/
Check to see that yours is there! Their coverage of churches
and synagogues is pretty good, but they are weak on other religions
- make sure you are listed under appropriate search terms and let
them know if the listing doesn't come up.
(I can forward requests or comments to them if you prefer: admin@memphisirg.org )

3/05/2011: Events are
moving thick and fast at the moment - sometimes one a day,
sometimes two a day. I'm putting the things Eunice and I wish we
could be at on the events list, but we can't get to all of
them! We enjoy seeing as many of you as we do when we
get to them. And of course we are giving a talk ourselves in
Collierville on Thursday March 10. See the Events page!

Memphis Muslims in March month was off to a nice start at the
lecture Saturday evening March 5; several more events are coming
March 14-18. In the meantime, if you haven't visited Temple
Israel, consider the events March 8 or March 20, and be aware of
the dinner series coming up at Balmoral and the noon series (lunch
optional) at Calvary.

The website -does- have an events of interest listing, and David
has asked me to ask all of you to help submit events to it. I'll
try to handhold if needed as we get started. If it gets good
enough that I don't have to work as hard at maintaining the list
here, I will be delighted. So far, there isn't much overlap; look
at his list as well as ours.

They are also building a website listing houses of worship, a
searchable list. Once again, our help ius needed. It has the
principal churches and synagogues but is very weak on mosques and
probably on other religious groups. Please check that your place
is on it and properly indexed (does it come up on appropriate
search terms) and let the paper know if it needs to be added or
edited. The list is at http://faithworksmemphis.com/ and
it has a phone number to call to get things fixed.

Events are now back on the Events page
with new things added regularly. I owe apologies to people who
ask me to post things but with only a few days notice - I do
sometimes have other things to do, and don't want to send e-mails
too often. (Should I senmd more often? Let me know your
opinion.)
We've also added a bunch of new things to the "Book List" page
- links to videos of interest, including the lectures by Rabbi
Marmor at Temple Israel, one of which was a wonderful talk about
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, the important Jewish philosopher and
teacher who so often marchged arm-in-arm with Rev. Martin Luther
King. -Also- the lectures from the Trinity Instute in New York which
were shown and discussed Feb 18 and 19 at St. Mary's (Episcopal)
Cathedral in Memphis, and some of Yasir Qadhi's talks at the Memphis
Islamic Center.

One new feature: We will try to provide one-page
printable events listings that you can print out to hand out or
put on a bulletin board.
To find them CLICK HERE

Some nice reports about Memphis.

Feb 11. What a week - in the last few days there have been talks
locally by Rigoberto Menchu Tum, the Guatamalan Nobel Peace Prize
Winner, and talks about Frantz Fanon (the black psychiatrist born in
Martinique who became an important leadert of the Algerian war for
independence) and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, the Jewish
philosopher who often m,arched arm-in-arm with Rev. Martin Luther
King. And a week earlier a lecture at U of M about the role of
an Indonesian volcanic eruption in the spread of Islam in Indonesia
and the expulsion of the Duitch colonial regime there. It's a
complicated world, isn't it? Plenty more is coming, see the events
page. Oh, the Commercial Appeal will soon be launching
expanded coverage of religious events, both online and in the paper!

---

Memphis seems pretty nice just now. It is hard not to feel
encouraged when the Memphis Jewish Federation mails out fund appeals
for flood victims in Pakistan, The Memphis Muslims e-mail list has
an appeal to bring in warm clothes to be distributed to the homeless
at the Union Mission, and the Memphis Islamic Center is one of the
sponsors of an event at Temple Israel. At one of our meetings
Masjid As-Salaam and New Church Memphis discovered they were
involved in the same program for providing food for the poor, and we
discussed cooperation between Muslim Social Services and Jewish
Family Services over issues like providing kosher/hallal food to
hospital patients.

Following the troubles in New York over the so-called "Ground Zero
Mosque," a Muslim writer and photographer from New York traveled
around the US to see how Muslims were faring elsewhere. In
Memphis, they were told, things are remarkably good. They
quote Danish Siddiqi, the communications director of the Memphis
Islamic Center, as saying “The Christians here are very welcoming of
Muslims because they actually adhere to what they
believe.” The New Yorkers go on to write about the
relations between the Memphis Islamic Center and Heartsong Church athttp://30mosques.com/2010/09/outtakes-the-memphis-islamic-center-and-their-neighbors/
and about the interfaith activities of the Ordmans athttp://30mosques.com/2010/09/day-27-the-muslims-in-memphis-part-1/
It is nice to see Memphis get this recognition, and nice to feel so
appreciated.